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HULLINIA^- 2 

OR, 

Selections from Local History:" 

INCLUDING 

THE SIEGE OF HULL, 
OUR ANCIENT CHURCHYARDS, 

AXD 

PAST POETS OF HULL. 



• • # 



By JOHN SYMON3, M.R.I. A., 

AUTHOB OF ' ; HIGH STREET, HULL," ETC. 



" if ^realt of ancient tinted"- — gnjilew. 



Kingston-uiDon-Hull: W. Adams, 23, Market-place; 
London : Kent & Co., Paternoster-row. 

1872. 



i o« n 

'01 



TO 



THE RIGHT HONORABLE 



LORD TALBOT DE MALAHIDE, 

F.S.A., M.R.I. A., 
PRESIDENT OF THE 
ROYAL ARCH/EOI OGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN 
( , AND IRELAND, 



THIS 



"^HEMNEgl" 



IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 






j J y*r r** °^ ™^ cu^aaZ^ 
cU#* 'id oLiUi - h(yw^ If, 






V \ 



vtf N presenting this little volume to the public, I may state at 
(S? the outset that it is simply a miscellaneous collection of 
local historical incidents and sketches compiled from the best 
authorities. My motives for placing them in a more permanent 
form than manuscript are many. I well remember the late 
E. E. Collins, when Editor of the " Hull Advertiser ," in 1863, 
while lamenting in a leader over the many local worthies departed, 
who when living devoted their time to the welfare of the town, 
and whose constant endeavours to do good were deserving of 
some biographical notice, urged the revival of the office of 
Historiographer. In the same paper, June 18th, 1863, I sup- 
ported the views of the writer, and since that period have often 
sighed for the leisure, means, and ability to carry out the desire 
of that able liierateur, "who so soon after took his place in " man's 
last mansion.' ' I pointed out at the time the difficulty which lies 
in the way of collecting facts worthy of interest to the people 
without troubling families and descendants, and have since real- 
ized the truth of that statement, for very little information has 
been afforded me by those to whom I applied, and it would have 
rejoiced me very much to have more fully noted the noble gifts 
of departed ancient worthies, and to have expatiated on the 
real charity and benevolence of the commercial, trading and en- 
terprising spirits that have from time to time passed from amongst 
us. To have written full biographical notices of these local 
patriots would have proved pleasurable to me and interesting to 
the reader. 

An additional motive that set my pen moving was to in- 
duce the young persons of our town to peruse larger works 
on similar subjects, and to stimulate the mind to further research 
into the early annals of Kingston-upon-Hull. I don't agree with 
the aphorism that "a great book is a great evil." It is, at least, a 
great necessity, if even required only for reference. "It is one of 



the privileges of History, 5 ' says a sage writer, " to impart the 
experience of age without its infirmities — to bring back things 
long obscured and fast fading away." It enriches the memory 
w T ith a great variety of important episodes of bygone days. 
It also teaches us what measures and counsels make the issue 
of things fortunate, and points out what kind of conduct in- 
volves its authors in ruin. It gives unerringly wise examples 
for our imitation in a private as well as in a public capacity. 
If, then, "Hullinia," will influence my young readers to study 
those comprehensive and elaborate volumes that have been 
written upon the rise and progress of our town, and which 
contain much that is valuable and interesting, my object shall 
have been accomplished. 

A work of this kind necessarily borrows much ; but what- 
ever new information was available from the ancient records of 
the borough and other reliable sources, it has been freely used 
and incorporated with many local transactions treated of by my 
predecessors in the same pursuit. Besides the historical episode 
of the Siege of Hull, I have collated nearly all the memorials 
extant in our ancient Churchyards. I have added brief notices 
of our grand and generous old mercantile benefactors who once 
moved upon the stage of Hull public life, and to whom may be at- 
tributed the commercial prosperity of the port in which all classes 
at present participate, as well as of those who have contributed 
both by their scholarly writings and poetical productions to 
elevate intellectually the place of their nativity, and of whom we 
all may justly be proud. In conclusion, I acknowledge the aid 
I have received from local works. I am especially indebted to 
Mr. J. Holland for permission to select what I required for 
the sketches of Hull Poets, from his brochure on the Yorkshire 
Poets ; to Mr. C. T. Sadlier for superintending and examining 
the proofs whilst passing through the press; to Mr. W. H. 
Adams, to whose care has been entrusted the Typographical ar- 
rangement of the work ; to Mr. E. Jackman for the admirable 
manner in which he has copied the portraits from the originals, 
and to Mr. Officer for engravings kindly placed at my disposal. 

Finally, I commend " Hullinia " to the fostering care of 
my fellow-townsmen, and trust it will repay perusal. 

J. S. 



§§ CONTENTS. (HH 



THE SIEGE OP HULL. 

PAGE. 

The Sieges of PI all and Paris compared 1 

Modes of conveying letters during the Siege of Hull 2 

Character of Charles 1 3 

Impeachment of the Bishops, Lord Kimbolton and five M.P.'s 4 

Sir John Hotham appointed Governor of Hull 7 

The King arrives at York 7 

Charles and the Parliament severally desire to possess Hull 8 

Preparations for the defence of Hull 9 

Sir J. Hotham formally takes possession of Hull 11 

Charles intends to dine with the Governor 12 

The Duke of York and other Royalists enter Hull in cog. 12 

The King seeks admission at Beverley Gate (Whitefriargate) ...... 13 

Hull Fortifications, Gates and Walls 13—14 

Extract from one of Queen Henrietta's letters to the King 20 

Another stratagem to secure Hull 20 

LordDigby 24 

Hull re-in forced 29 

Siege raised 30 

Queen Henrietta at Burlington 31 

Sir J. Hotham determines to surrender Hull 33 

The plot discovered 33 

Captain Hotham taken prisoner 34 

The Governor escapes from Hull 35 — 36 

Sir John and his Son committed to the Tower 36 

Their trial and execution 37 — 38 

Character of Sir John 39 

OUR ANCIENT CHURCHYARDS. 

Holy Trinity Church 43 

The old Chantry Chapels 48—49 

Undiscovered record of the " Gilde of Blessed Virgin Mary " 50 

Historical sketch of Holy Trinity 51 — 53 

Wakes, or Feasts of Dedication , ... 53—54 



CONTENTS— Continued. 

The planting of trees in churchyards 

Church Bells and Bell-ringing 

Holy Trinity under interdict 

Ancient burials 

The De la Pole Memorial 

The Plague of 1638 

Reception of Charles I., in 1639 

The Ncttleton Memorial 

Funeral Sermons 

Mourning 

The Broadley Memorial 

„ Ferries „ 

„ Whincup „ 

Remarkable Will of William Gee 

The Cogan Memorial 

Epitaphs, &c. 

St. Maey's Church 

Ancient notices 

Destruction by Henry VIII 

Benefactions to the Church 

St. Mary's restored 

Memorials, Epitaphs, &c 

PAST POETS OP HULL. 

Introductory , 

Coedman, the Father of Anglo-Saxon Poets 

Andrew Marvell 

Death of Andrew's Father and Miss Skinner 

Barton Ferry in olden times , 

An Irish view of Marvell 

Marvell suspected of sedition 

Dr. Wittie 

Edward Thompson , 

William Mason , 

Thomas Bridges 

Ralph Darlmg 

Nathaniel Tucker 

Benjamin Thompson 

Isaac Wilson , 

George Pry me 

The Rev. Richard Patrick . /. 

The Rev. Thomas Browne 

Conclusion 



PAGE. 
00 

56—58 
58 

59—62 
65 
66 
68 
71 
74 
74 
75 
76 
79 
80 
82 
83 
87 
87 
88 
90 
94 
35—100 



102 
105 
107 
108 
109 
122 
123 
129 
131 
133 
136 
137 
139 
111 
142 
144 
140 
118 
151 



THE SIEGE OF HULL. 



" May each returning tide enlarge thy store, 
Thy shipping safe return, increased in worth : 
Place of my birth — renowned in ancient lore, 
Commercial lord ! emporium of the North ! " 




SjctKfrm 'jpouertLer of zHu,CC JL member of th,t JhCo-urf^ 
fitcvc/e of Commons 

Sir John Hf)THAM. 

(.Fr~f?m an Ancient £ ng raring') 




The Siege of Hull. 




T was during the recent Siege of Paris that my 
attention was drawn to the history of the 
Siege of Hull, and I determined upon col- 
lecting all the salient points in connection therewith, 
and placing them on paper — simply for the purpose 
of impressing them upon the minds of the young mem- 
bers of the Hull Mechanics Institution, Since then 
(by request) it has been designed to publish them for 
public perusal ; though I am not sanguine that the 
following pages will be found very interesting to 
general readers. It is somewhat remarkable that, 
although above 200 years have elapsed between the 
Sieges of Hull and Paris, the strategy resorted to by 
the Prussians very much resembled that of the Royal- 
ists when they were before Hull, save and except the 
engines of war beino- of a more formidable character. 

When first I read of the Prussians besieging the 
capital, I envied the French having so strongly 
fortified Paris, in order to protect the inhabitants ; 
and thought, that if it should ever fall to our un- 
fortunate lot to be invaded, what a calamity it would 
prove if we were not fortified as heretofore. How- 
ever, it is thought by military authorities to be a 
mistake to build up bulwarks round a town or 
city : for at the period I am about to describe, the 
inhabitants of towns followed the example of feudal 
Barons, who garrisoned and armed their Castles to 
protect themselves, when the rights of society were 



2 nil, LIMA. 

trampled under foot Communities followed this ex- 
ample, and fortified the places where they resided ; but 
in those days there were no Artillerists like unto ours 
of modern times ; and, consequently, it is now thought 
far better that towns and cities should be left open, 
because of the death and destruction that are dealt out 
through the deadly fire of monster siege guns. 

The besieged of Hull had no carrier pigeons for 
the conveyance of letters, but Dp: la Pryme tells us, in 
the Diary of his life, (a.d. 1695,) that h e was w *th an 
ingenious old man, who had been a great royalist in 
King Charles the First's days. " Amongst other very 
observable things that he had told me, and that we 
talked about (he continues) was, that they had a dog 
in their troop, that every night had letters put betwixt 
his neck and his collar, which was made large on purpose, 
and that he would have gone to any garrison or place 
they told him of within twenty miles round about/' 
Talking of other ways of sending letters privately, he 
said they had but two more, and they were these : " the 
one was to make hollow the wooden heels of a pair of 
shoes, and by stuffing letters therein, and then letting 
the flap of the inner sole fall upon the covering, so put 
them on a beggar's feet, and send him where they 
pleased. The other way they had was to carry them in 
a hollow stick or crutch that beggars walk with." And 
here let me state, while alluding by way of preliminary 
to the past and the present, that the scene of that great 
historical struggle — the Siege of Hull — is now devoted 
to the peaceful spirit of commerce, and known as the 
Humber, Prince's, and Queen's Docks : they occupy the 
original site of the ancient fortifications of the town, 
and encircle it with water, where once stood its ancient 
walls. It is an old maxim, that whatever prevails at 
sea, will in the end prevail on shore. Possessing then, 
as this nation does, the most formidable fleet of war 
ships in the world, and all our ports filled with able and 
patriotic seamen — without vain boast, England, at the 




King; Charles I- 

T/otu a Picture fry Old Stone, ^/?an Dyck, w the Collection ^Sr Christ 1 SykesBarV 




JRs Seald tlu/iy/q&s /hm tA& Originals in the 2fy6qfci*n <?' 
.Jolm Thane 



ill'!. LIMA. 3 

present period, has no rival in the Empire of the Seas. 

11 Hence for many a fearless ago 
Has social quiet loved thy shore ; 

Xor ever proud invaders rage 
Or sack'd thy towers or stain'd thy fields with gore." 

I will now proceed to narrate a chapter from 
English history, when our town was besieged by a 
King and his army, and when our royal borough was 
surrounded with battlements similar to Paris in the 
present day ; also to relate an account of the com- 
mencement of the first Siege of Hull : because, by so 
doing, it gives me the opportunity of introducing two 
eminent personages — Sir John Hotham, Governor of 
Hull, at the period mentioned, and his son. They 
will be the principal performers, and as I proceed, you 
will be the best judges whether they deserved the 
punishment of death which ended their cloudy careers. 
I shall simply quote history, which clearly shows that, 
although things looked very ominous in England at the 
critical period I am about to allude to, yet, through 
Sir John Hotham's indecision of character and conduct, 
he certainly was the primary cause of the commence- 
ment of the civil war that followed, and hastened the 
great rebellion which ultimately brought Charles to the 
scaffold. A word or two on the character of this King, 
to prepare my readers for what transpired between him 
and the Governor of Hull. Flume says, "he deserved 
the epithet of a good, rather than of a great man ; 
and was more fitted to rule in a regularly established 
government than either to give way to the encroach- 
ments of a popular assembly or finally to subdue 
their pretensions." Unhappily, his fate threw him into 
a period when the precedents of many former reigns 
savoured strongly of arbitrary power, and the genius of 
the people ran violently towards liberty. Much excuse 
may be made for Charles's political prudence, exposed 
as he was to the assault of furious, implacable, and 
bigoted factions. In 1682, tumults were on the in- 
crease, England was then on the eve of revolution, 



4 HULLINIA. 

The cry incessantly resounded against " bishops and 
rotten-hearted lords ;" and the former being distinguish- 
able by their clerical dress, were exposed to the most 
dangerous insults, particularly about Westminster and 
Whitehall. The bishops drew up a protest, and pre- 
sented it to the King, setting forth, that although 
they had an undoubted right to sit and vote in 
Parliament, yet, in coming thither, they had been 
menaced by the multitude, and could no longer with 
safety attend their duty in the House ; they moreover 
protested against all laws, votes, and resolutions, as 
null and void, which should pass during the time of 
their constrained absence. This protest was thought to 
be ill-timed — it was signed by twelve bishops, and com- 
municated to the King, who hastily approved of it. 
The Lords desired an interview with the Commons, 
and the opportunity was siezed with avidity and joy. 
An impeachment followed of high treason being sent 
up against the bishops, in endeavouring to subvert the 
laws, and to invalidate the authority of the legislature. 
A few days afterwards, the King was betrayed 
into another indiscretion, much more fatal — an indis- 
cretion to which all the ensuing disorders and civil wars 
may be immediately and directly ascribed. This was the 
impeachment of Lord Kimbolton and the five members. 
Charles, though normally moderate in temper, was a 
proud prince. The Commons instigated the populace 
to tumult and disorder ; they knew if the King only 
remained tranquil, and cautiously eluded this first 
violence of the tempest, he would, in the end, prevail. 
They therefore resolved, if possible, to excite him to 
some violent passion, in the hope that he would commit 
indiscretions of which they might take advantage ; and 
they succeeded. Charles became enraged to find his con- 
cessions but increased their demands. The Queen and 
the ladies of the Court further stimulated his passions, 
and represented that, if he exerted the vigour and 
displayed the majesty of the monarch, the daring usur 



HuLLIXiA. 5 

pations of his subjects would shrink before him. Lord 
Digby suggested the like counsel. Charles, who was 
ever disposed to hasty resolutions, gave way to the 
fatal importunities of his friends. Mr. Herbert, the 
Attorney-General, appeared in the Upper House and 
in his Majesty's name entered an accusation of high 
treason against Lord Kimbolton and five Commoners, 
named Hollis, Sir Arthur Haslerig, Hampden, Pym, and 
Strode. The whole world stood amazed ; for these five 
members, (at least Pym, Hampden, and Hollis,) were 
the very head of the popular party. Men had no 
leisure to wonder at this indiscretion — others followed 
still more imprudent. A Sergeant-at-Arms went im- 
mediately in the Kings name, demanded of the House 
these five members, but he was sent back without any 
positive answer. Messengers were then employed to 
search for them : the King went the next day in person — 
irritated with the opposition — with the intention of 
demanding the individuals whom he had accused. It 
coming to the ears of the Countess of Carlisle, she 
privately sent intelligence to the five members, who 
had time to withdraw, a moment before the King 
entered. His Majesty was accompanied by his 
ordinary retinue, but left them at the door of the 
Commons, and he himself advanced alone through 
the hall, while all the members rose to receive him. 
The speaker withdrew from the chair, when the King 
took possession of it, and in an indignant speech 
demanded the men ; and he also took the opportunity, 
in concluding his remarks, of saying — " I see I cannot 
do what I came for : I think this is no unfit occasion to 
repeat what I have said formerly — that whatever I 
have done in favour, and to the good of my subjects, 
I do intend to maintain." Charles looked around for 
the accused members, but, not finding them, he 
asked the speaker whether any of them w r ere present ? 
The speaker fell on his knees, and said, that he had 
" neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in that place, 



6 HULLINIA, . 

but as the House was pleased to direct him." The Com- 
mons were in the utmost disorder. That evening the 
accused members removed into the city, and the citizens 
were the whole night in arms. Next morning, the 
King sent to the Lord Mayor, ordering him to call a 
Common Council immediately, and about 10 o'clock, he 
himself, attended only by three or four lords, went to 
the Guildhall. He told the Council that he was sorry 
to hear of the apprehension entertained of him ; he had 
accused certain persons of high treason, against whom 
he would proceed in a legal way, and he presumed 
that they would not give them any protection in the 
city. After other gracious expressions, he departed 
without receiving the applause he expected. In 
passing through the streets, the cry of 4i Privilege of 
Parliament," resounded in all quarters ; and also the 
words " To your tents, O Israel ! " — the exclamation of 
the Israelites when they abandoned Rehoboam their 
Sovereign. The King, apprehensive of danger, left 
London. The accused members were taken daily to 
the House, accompanied by a tumultuous procession; 
and when the populace passed Whitehall they still 
asked with shouts " What has become of the Kino- and 
his Cavaliers ? " and "Whither are they fled ?" 

Charles — overwhelmed with grief, shame, and re- 
morse, and for whose ruin friends and enemies seemed 
equally to conspire, left London. The Queen, being 
secretly threatened with an impeachment, was preparing 
to retire into Holland. Bills sent up to the Commons, 
which had hitherto stopped with the Peers, and would 
certainly have been rejected, were passed, and pre- 
sented for the Royal assent : amongst which, was 
the bill against the votes of the Bishops in Parliament. 
Charles gave his assent in the hope of appeasing, for a 
time, the rage of the multitude ; but these concessions, 
however important, had no effect. They were made 
the foundation of demands still more extensive, and 
they also carried up an impeachment against the 



HULLINIA. 7 

Attorney-General for obeying his master's commands 
in accusing their members. 

A large magazine of arms was kept in Hull, and 
amidst the commotion, the Commons dispatched thither 
Sir John Hotham, giving him the authority of Governor. 
This magazine was the old Manor Hall, formerly the 
Palace of Michael De la Pole, and was situated nearly 
opposite the Low r gate Church. In it were deposited 
enormous quantities of ammunition, arms, and strong 
head-pieces, corslets, muskets, carriages, &c, originally 
purchased by the Royalists in 1639, and forwarded 
to Hull. 

In this famous Parliament, which subsequently 
contended with Charles for sovereign power, sat. Sir 
John Hotham, Knight, who represented Beverley; 
young Hotham, as M.P. for Scarborough; and Sir 
John Lister, who, as Mayor of Hull, entertained the 
same King, at a previous period, at his house in the 
Hio-h-street ; he was also member for Hull in the 
long Parliament. It was about 1635, however, that 
Sir John Hotham's sun began to shine, and he became 
very popular. He had been Sheriff of the County, and 
very active and vigorous in collecting "ship money/' an 
objectionable tax ; yet, from the tenor of his subsequent 
conduct, he was not apparently actuated by any wish 
to promote the interest of King Charles. He in- 
sinuated himself so far into the favour of the people 
that he was elected a member of the House of Commons. 
We shall watch his conduct until we attend him and 
his son on the scaffold at Tower Hill. 

But let us in the meantime follow the footsteps of 
the runaway King. It appears that Charles resolved to 
remove farther from London, and the next news informs 
us that he had arrived at York, taking with him the 
Prince of Wales and the Duke of York. The King 
here found marks of attachment beyond what he ex- 
pected: from all quarters of England the Nobility and 
Gentry, personally or otherwise, expressed their duty 



8 11ULLLX1A. 

towards him. They seemed to think one rash and 
passionate act on his part ought not to have brought on 
such violence to him and every branch of the legislature; 
and, however sweet the sound of liberty might be, they 
resolved to adhere to that moderate freedom transmitted 
from their ancestors rather than engage in the search 
after more independence. Charles, thus finding himself 
supported by a considerable party in the kingdom, began 
to speak in firmer tones. He issued proclamations ; 
the people's imaginations became excited with a 
continued dread of Catholicism, with a horror against 
prelacy, with an antipathy to ceremonies and the 
liturgy, and with a violent affection for whatever was 
most opposite to these objects of aversion ; the fanatical 
spirit once let loose, confounded all regard to ease, 
safety, interest, and dissolved every civil obligation. 
Each party was desirous to throw on its antagonists 
the odium of commencing a civil war. 

Sir John Hotham, the newly appointed Governor, 
though he had accepted a commission from Parliament, 
was not thought to be much disaffected to the Church 
and Monarchy. Charles, therefore, entertained hopes 
that, if he presented himself at Hull before the com- 
mencement of hostilities, Hotham, overawed by his 
presence, would admit him with his retinue. This 
town, being at that period, one of the best fortified in 
the kingdom, and the magazine then containing the 
arms of all the forces levied against the Scots, after 
gaining admittance, Charles thought he could easily 
render himself master of the place. 

We will now see what was being done in our own 
kk Royal Town/' The King, as well as Parliament, 
knew whichever should be so fortunate as to gain 
possession of Hull, would have a decided superiority, 
at least in the outset of the contest. Its vast magazine 
far exceedec. the collection of war-like stores in the 
Tower of London ; indeed I lull was the best furnished 
arsenal in England. Parliament bejng apprehensive of 



HULLINIA. 9 

the King's intention of securing Hull, letters were 
written — one came from Sir Henry Vane, (Sir John 
Listers colleague,) in consequence of which, the Cor- 
poration became much alarmed; a Hall was summoned, 
and the town put into a state of defence. The bulwarks 
were strongly faced with brick ; port-holes were made 
towards the Harbour and Humber; arms, ammunition, 
and artillery were taken out of the magazine ; the in- 
habitants armed, and guards set to watch night and day. 
It is certain the King intended to become master of 
Hull, so that he might have a place to resort to ; on the 
other hand, the Parliamentarians were determined, if 
possible, to anticipate Charles's intentions, and nothing 
tends to convince us more of the great importance of 
this town at that period than the subtlety and con- 
trivance made use of to obtain possession of it. 

The United Kingdom became divided into two 
great bodies — the " Roundheads" and the " Cavaliers," 
according as they avowed their attachments to the new 
principles of freedom or to the interests of Monarchy. 
The origin of the former term is thus explained by Mrs. 
Hutchinson, in her memoirs of her husband : — She says, 
" when Puritanism grew into a faction, and the zealots 
distinguished themselves, both men and women, by 
several affectations of habit, looks, and words — which, 
had it been a real declension of vanity, and embracing 
of sobriety in all those things, had been most com- 
mendable in them ; but their quick forsaking of those 
things when they were where they would be, showed 
that they either never took them up for conscience or 
were corrupted by their prosperity to take up those 
vain things which they durst not practice under persecu- 
tion. Among other affected habits, few of the Puritans, 
what degree soever they were of, wore their hair long 
enough to cover their ears and the ministers and many 
others cut it close round their heads, with so many little 
peaks, as was something ridiculous to behold ; where- 
upon Cleveland, in his hue and cry after them, begins— 



10 HULLINIA. 

1 with hair in character and luggs in text/ &c. ; from this 
custom of wearing their hair, that name of 'Roundhead' 
became the scornful term given to the whole Parlia- 
ment party, whose army, indeed, marched out so ; but 
as if they had been sent out only until their hair was 
grown ; two or three years after, any stranger that had 
seen them would have inquired the reason of that name. 
The Godly party of those days — when he, (Mr. Hutchin- 
son,) joined them, would not allow him to be religious 
because his hair was not in their cut, nor his words in 
their phrase ; nor such little formalities altogether 
fitted to their humour, who were many of them so weak 
as to esteem men rather for such insignificant circum- 
stances than for solid piety, wisdom and courage." 

On both sides we see many things worthy of 
admiration — on the one hand, a brave and intelligent 
people were about to take the field in the cause of 
liberty ; and on the other, a generous nobility, supported 
by the great body of the minor Barons of the kingdom, 
present themselves in the attitude of defending their 
Sovereign against the fury of democratical ambition, 
which threatened and ultimately succeeded in treading 
the Crown and sceptre in the dust, and soon- the most 
virtuous nation in Europe was plunged into the miseries 
of a civil war. The war of the Pen, in all the large 
towns, preceded, the war of the Sword. Letters were 
written by the Parliament to most of the Corporations, 
and one of them came to Hull. A second alarm was 
given by more letters being written to the same purport, 
namely, that they were about to be invaded. The 
Corporation appointed 24 of the chief residents to sit 
from time to time, with the Mayor and Aldermen, to 
assist them with their counsel for the peace and safety 
of the town. Historians say that, had Charles made 
himself master of Hull, he would in all probability have 
subdued the Parliament. 

A message was forwarded to the Lords by the 
Commons, stating that 4t there was a magazine with 



HULLINIA. I I 

arms and ammunition for 16,000 men in Hull, that the 
town was weakly garrisoned, and that the adjacent 
county was full of disaffected persons. They desired 
that some of the trained bands of Yorkshire should be 
put into Hull under Sir John Hotham, with orders not 
to deliver up the town or magazine without the King's 
authority signified by both Houses!' To this message 
the Lords consented. Young Hotham was sent im- 
mediately to Hull to execute this order, until his father 
could be ready to take the government upon himself. 
Sir John followed a few weeks after his son. When 
the Governor elect arrived before the town, he sent a 
trumpeter and demanded admittance for himself and his 
forces, which numbered 800 of the militia. The Mayor 
ordered the bridges to be drawn up — shut the gates — 
charged the cannon — and summoned the inhabitants to 
his assistance. The Mayor in answer to Sir John's 
application answered, " that he was resolved to be true 
to his trust, and that, if Sir John did not move further 
off, he would be treated as an enemy " ; whereupon he 
retired and dispatched an express to Parliament, and on 
its being read to the House, an order was speedily made 
to receive Sir John, and resign the government to him, 
or they should be deemed guilty of treason. On receipt 
of this message, a Hall was summoned, when it was re- 
solved to obey the order; accordingly, Sir John Hotham 
and his forces were admitted without further delay. 

Thus was Hull lost to Charles, it being the first 
town the Parliament had secured, with the first forces 
which were openly employed against the stronghold uf 
the kingdom. The town v s of such import .nee then, 
that it gave a great superic i v to that part) 7 into whose 
hands it should first fall. So^.i after, the Kino- wrote 
to the Corporation desiring them to receive the Earl of 
Newcastle, as Governor, to keep it in their own hands, 
and under the government of the Mayor, as usual. As 
will be seen, it was too late. More troops were for- 
warded, and all communications with the Royalists 
were entirely cut off. 



12 HULLINIA. 

On the 2 2nd of April, 1642, the King, who was at 
York, sent the Duke of York, his second son, (after- 
wards James the 2nd,) to Hull, w r ith the young elector 
Palatine, Lords Newport and Willoughby, Sir Thomas 
Glenham, and others. They entered the town on 
market-day with the country people, unknown to the 
magistrates ; but on making themselves known, they 
were entertained by the Mayor, in company with the 
Governor, and the next day they dined with Sir John 
Hotham. The King on that morning set out from 
York, and rode on towards Hull with a train of 300 
persons. Just before the Governor sat down to dinner, 
the entertainment was interrupted by the arrival of 
Sir Lewis Dives, who was the bearer of a message to 
the Governor, which was brief and in the following 
words : " That His Majesty designed to dine with him 
that day." Sir Lewis also notified to the select company 
assembled that the King was only four miles off. Sir 
John became so startled with the news that he im- 
mediately left the table, went into his private room, and 
sent for Alderman Pelham, who had been elected a 
Member of Parliament for Hull, in the room of Sir 
John Lister (deceased). The interview resulted in the 
determination that the King should not be admitted, 
and accordingly, a messenger was sent to His Majesty, 
"humbly beseeching him to forbear coming, forasmuch 
as Sir John could not, without betraying the trust com- 
mitted to him, set open the gates to so great a company 
as he came attended withal." The King was shocked at 
this message ; nevertheless he proceeded on his road to 
the town. He forwarded a messenger with the news 
of his approach, upon which, Sir John Hotham ordered 
the bridges to be drawn up. and the gates to be shut ; 
the guns were loaded, the soldiers drawn out and stood 
to their arms behind the walls ; the inhabitants were 
confined to their houses until sunset, and all persons 
were forbidden, on pain of death, to go out into the 
streets By these precautions the Parliamentary party 



HULUNIA. 13 

entirely defeated the supposed projects of the Duke of 
York, who was doubtless sent to incite rebellion among 
the inhabitants, in case his father was denied entrance. 

About eleven o'clock, King Charles appeared at 
Beverley gate, and seeing the bridge drawn up and the 
hostile appearance which the walls exhibited, he 
summoned Sir John, and on his appearance, demanded 
admittance. The answer of Hotham — and indeed the 
whole conference — is slightly varied by historians, 
therefore, I will give the several words put into his 
mouth by those who have related this extraordinary 
historical interview between a King of England de- 
manding entrance to our town, and a Governor 
denying him admission, under the singular pretence 
of a great regard for the honour of his Sovereign, 
against whom at the time he was in actual rebellion. 
But before so doing, it would be as well, at this par- 
ticular juncture, to describe briefly the frowning fortifi- 
cations that surrounded the town at the time we are 
alluding to. 

We are all familiar with the various ancient plans 
of Hull; and if there are any who are not, they will 
find them all collected in one volume, in the last edition 
of Mr. Sheahan's " History of Hull ; " but in the plan of 
Hull, A.D. 1640, we get a capital view of the town 
as it appeared at the very period I am describing— 
namely, just before the civil war. Every building is 
distinctly and accurately delineated, including the 
Churches, the Magazine, Castle and Block-houses. 
There was a wide and deep moat in front of the walls, 
on the north and west sides of the town, which was 
connected with the rivers Hull and H umber ; so that 
the town was surrounded by water as at present. The 
entrances to the town at that time were by five massive 
gateways, namely: — Hessle, Myton, Beverley, Low, 
and North Gates, and two Sally-ports. The distances 
from each gate were nearly equal. The whole fortified 
walls were 2,610 yards in circuit, or a few yards less 



14 liTUJMA, 

than a mile-and-a-half. In front of the principal gates 
were drawbridges, and half moon-shaped batteries were 
thrown up before them, during the civil war which 
soon followed the siege of Hull. Hessle Gate stood 
at the west end of H umber-street, and consisted of 
a tower with gate- way and barbican ; My ton Gate was 
at the end of the street bearing that name ; Beverley 
Gate — where we left Charles — was at the end of 
Whitefriargate, surmounted by a tower and spire ; the 
Low Gate was at the end of that thoroughfare, and a 
little to the westward was a half-moon battery; and 
the North Gate was at the end of High-street, close 
to the Dock Office. One of the Sally-ports, or Posterns, 
was at the end of Posterngate. The fortifications 
were continued from Hessle Gate to the South-end, 
near the Watch-house. At that time there were 
neither Wellington nor Nelson-Streets ; the foreshore 
being in H umber-Street. One of the towers, which 
would be situated near the site of the Theatre Royal, 
was known as the " Cold and Uncud," or uncouth, and 
was used as a prison. 

We will now cross over the North-bridge and ex- 
amine the east side of the town. The first object 
worthy of notice, was the North Block-house. King- 
Henry VIII, when visiting Hull in 1540, found -that 
portion of the town defenceless, and accordingly ordered 
two Block-houses to be built, and a Castle to be erected, 
with a strict injunction that they should be made 
44 mighty strong." The walls were immensely thick, 
and all must have a vivid recollection of how great a 
difficuly it was to demolish them when the Garrison 
was dismantled. Six hundred yards from the Block- 
house stood the Castle ; and about four hundred yards 
further was the South Block-house. The whole three 
were joined by a strong wall — there being no Citadel 
until 1681, when Charles II. constructed the Garrison. 

Want of space will net permit of my describing 
the interior of the Castle and Block-houses ; but all 



HULLINIA, [5 

must agree that before the walls began to decay — 
through more peaceful times following after the reign 
of the Second Charles — Hull, with its high raised 
battlements, — thick walls, with " spire and turret 
crowned/' was a prize worth struggling for between 
the Crown and the Parliament ; and however we 
may smile at old historians when they described 
it as being the " Royal and beautiful town of Kingston- 
upon-Hull," it must have been most imposing, compared 
with what it is in our present peaceful times. And now, 
having given a description of the town's appearance in 
1642, we will return to Beverley Gate, where we left 
the King, attended by ki starred and spangled" Cavaliers. 
For a moment they all seem to live again ; we stand 
on the battlements — we seem to witness the colloquy ; 
the fortalice and the ramparts ring with the clang and 
din of arms. Outside the gate was the comely pre- 
sence of the King, with " his usual melancholy aspect." 
It is said, " his face was regular, handsome, and well- 
complexioned," — he excelled in horsemanship,' and was 
surrounded by 300 noble and chivalrous followers, the 
turf heaving beneath the feet of their horses. Among 
those present, on a beautiful charger, was Bertie, Duke 
of Ancaster and Earl of Lindsey, who was subsequently 
mortally wounded at the battle of Edgehill ; the Mar- 
quis of Northampton, who was afterwards sent to 
the relief of Stafford, and, having accomplished that 
object, engaged, with 1,000 men, more than 2,000 
of the enemy in the battle of Hopton Heath, March ig, 
1644, and was killed; the Earl of Derby who dis- 
tinguished himself by his loyal attachment to King- 
Charles, and who, in the county of Lancaster, August 
26, 165 1, with 600 horse, maintained a fight against 
2,000 horse and foot of the enemy, but was sub- 
sequently taken prisoner at the battle of Winchester, 
September 3, 165 1, and beheaded at Bolton, October 
15, in the same year; Thomas, Lord Arundel, who was 
killed in the battle of Lansdown, July 5, 1643 ; the Earl 



l6 HULLINIAi 

of Montrose, who was executed May 21, 1650; the 
Duke of Kingston, who was afterwards killed in an open 
boat on the river Trent, being at the time a prisoner, 
on his way to Hull ; Prince Rupert ; the Earl of Wor- 
cester ; the Marquis of Winchester ; Earl of Chester- 
field ; Earl of Lichfield ; Lord Wentworth (afterwards 
created Earl of Cleveland) ; and Viscount Fauconberg, 
who was the Commander-in-Chief at the battle of 
Selby. 

No wonder that when Sir John Hotham came face 
to face with the King, he betrayed the utmost confusion 
and irresolution. The King demanded admittance. Sir 
John, evidently much embarassed, and with distracted 
looks, spoke confusedly. It is said he was very 
haughty to his inferiors, and was not endowed with a 
presence of mind which enables men to act on any 
sudden emergency. He was master of a fine landed 
estate, very rich, of an ancient family, and well 
allied. He was a man of peace, and it is thought that 
his refusal to admit the King might be the means of 
preventing a rupture between the Crown and people. 
When the King demanded admission, Sir John said 
" he durst not open the gate, being entrusted by the 
Parliament," to which the King replied, %i he believed 
he had no order to act in that manner/' Hotham 
rejoined, " that the King's train was so great, that if 
it were admitted, he should not be able to give an 
account of the town ; " whereupon the King offered to 
enter with twenty horsemen only. Sir John again re- 
fused. The King then desired Sir John to come out 
to him, so that he might hold a conference with him, 
and gave his royal word for his safe return. Sir John 
begged to be excused. Charles then became indignant, 
and told him " that as this action was altogether un- 
paralleled, so it would produce some notable effect ; 
that it was not possible for him to sit down with such 
an indignity, but that he would proclaim him a traitor, 
and proceed against him as such; that his disobedience 



HULLINIA. 17 

would probably bring many miseries on the kingdom, 
and loss of much blood, all of which might be prevented 
if he performed the duty of a subject, and therefore 
advised him to think sadly of it, and to prevent the 
necessary growth of so many calamities, which must lie 
all upon his conscience." Sir John, with distracted 
looks, conversed very confusedly of the trust he had 
from Parliament, and falling on his knees, wished 
" That God would bring confusion upon him and his, 
if he was not a loyal and faithful subject to his majesty, 
but in conclusion he declined to suffer his majesty to 
come into the town." The King then called for the 
Mayor, Mr. Thomas Raikes, and demanded admission 
from him. The Mayor also fell on his knees, began 
shedding tears and answered " That he could do no 
more, protesting he would let him in if it was in his 
power, but that he could not do it, there being a guard 
over him, the inhabitants, and the gates, which were 
held by the soldiers ready armed, with orders to put 
any one to death, who should attempt to open them." 
About one o'clock a private consultation took place 
between Sir John Hotham and the officers, with the 
Duke of York and party who was inside the town, 
which ended in their being allowed to go out to the 
King, w T ith whom they had a long conference. At five 
o'clock in the evening" the Kino- again commanded the 
Governor to open the gates, giving him one hour to 
consider of it. Sir John still persisted in his refusal. 
Charles then and there proclaimed him a traitor, by 
two heralds, commanding the Corporation to reject 
his jurisdiction as the Governor ; and, drawing close 
up to the walls, ordered the soldiers to throw the 
traitor over into the moat. No notice was taken, and 
Sir John losing his temper at these remarks, used some 
expressions of disloyalty and contempt. The King 
then withdrew and went to Beverley ; but the next day 
he sent a herald to Hull to summon him for the last 
time to open the gates, with offer of pardon for all the 

B 



?8 HULLINIA. 

past disloyalty. It was of no avail, and Charles 
therefore returned to York. 

Now, it seems very strange that the King should 
not have provided himself with materials of war to 
accomplish his object of taking Hull, because it was 
well known when he left London that that was his in- 
tention. It seems he flattered himself that he had no 
more to do than to appear at the gates of Hull, and that 
■'" if he knocked it would be opened unto him." H'e 
•may have forgotten that the town was in the hands of 
' persons who had become disaffected, through his en- 
deavour to trample on the laws, and by his refusing to 
make timely constitutional concessions, they had lost 
reverence for royal dignity. Sir John Hotham was 
bound to carry out the order of Parliament-, he himself 
being a member of the House of Commons ; and they 
had chosen him for the government of Hull because 
they believed he w r ould be true to his trust. This re- 
fusal to admit the King into Hull seriously damaged 
the little remaining prestige he possessed. In vain 

* Charles tried to varnish this rebuff by saying he had 
no other design than to visit Hull and examine the 

* magazine. Discomfited in his views, and highly in- 
dignant at the insult he had received, he thereupon 

-accused Sir John Hotham of high treason, and de- 

■ manded of Parliament reparation for the affront. 

r This gave rise to innumerable messages, declarations, 

answers and replies. I can only simply mention the 

* purport of them : — The King cited the laws which com- 
mitted to him the care and command of the forts and 

: magazines, and he urged that they were his own pro- 
perty — particularly those of Hull — being purchased 
with his own cash, and which could not be witfiheM 
from him, without treating him worse than the lowest 
of his subjects. Parliament replied that they were 
intrusted to the care of the sovereign simply as a de- 
posit for their preservation, and not to be used for the 
destruction of the people ; therefore his claim was 



HULLINIA. 19 

groundless. Ultimately, Parliament vindicated Sir 
John Hotham's conduct at Beverley Gate, by passing 
a resolution which was sent to Hull by express — " That 
no forces should be admitted into Hull without the 
immediate consent of both Houses/' 

In the meantime, the nobility of the North ex- 
pressed a high sense of their affection for the King, 
and offered to raise a force in the county to take Hull 
by an assault. The King in the meantime sent an- 
other message to Parliament, stating " That he was so 
much concerned in the undutiful affront which he had 
received from Sir John Hotham, before the Gates of 
Hull, that he was impatient till he received justice 
from them/' The Parliament again avowed their 
approval of Sir John's transactions. Charles thereupon 
published a declaration respecting Hull, commencing 
by saying, that " Since our two gracious messages 
concerning Hull — to both Houses of Parliament — 
demanding justice for the high and unheard of affront, 
offered unto us at the Gates of Hull by Sir John 
Hotham, is not thought worthy of an answer, but in- 
stead thereof, they have thought fit, by their printed 
votes of the 28th of April last, to own and avow that 
unparalleled act of Sir John Hotham's, to be done in 
obedience to the command of both Houses of Parlia- 
ment — by the defence of such proceedings, all private 
interest and title of our gfood subjects to their lands 
and goods are confounded and destroyed. And this 
we are sure is our case at Hull, and as it is ours to-day, 
by the same rule, it may be theirs to-morrow." 
Charles concluded this proclamation by quoting Pym's 
own words :-— " If the prerogatives of the King over- 
whelm the liberty of the people, it will be turned to 
tyranny ; if liberty undermine the prerogative, it will 
turn into anarchy and confusion." 

The following is a copy of a letter of Henrietta 
Marias, Queen of Charles the First, written soon after 
the unfortunate attempt upon Hull, in April 1642, 



20 HULLIXIA. 

translated from the French. The original is in the 
British Museum without date. It is rare, and since I 
have not found it in any of our local histories, and as 
it relates to the subject I will quote it here. It is 
copied from " Seward's Anecdotes of Distinguished 
Persons," Vol. L, page 225 : — - 

" As I was closing my letter Sir. L. Dives arrived, who has told me 
" all that passed at Hull. Do not lose courage, and pursue the business 
" with resolution, for you must now show that you will make good 
" what you have undertaken. If the man who is in the place will not 
" submit, you have already declared him a Traitor; you must have him 
" alive or dead, for matters now begin to be very serious. You must 
" declare yourself ; you have shewn gentleness enough, you must now 
u show your firmness. You see what has happened from not having 
''followed your fiist resolution, when you declared the five members 
" traitors ; let that serve you for an example ; dalty no longer with 
" consultations, but proceed to action. I heartily wished myself in the 
" place of my son James, in Hull ; I should have thrown that scoundrel 
" Hotham over the walls, or he should have thrown me. I am in such 
''haste to dispatch this bearer, that I can write to nobody else. Go 
" boldly to work, as I see there is no hope of accommodation," &c, &c. 

Subsequently the King made another attempt to 
secure Hull. There were onlv two methods left to 
become master of it — either by surprise or force. The 
latter was quite impracticable, having no artillery, arms, 
or ammunition. There was at that time a Mr. Beck- 
with living at Beverley, who had a son-in-law an officer 
in Hull, whom the King sent thither; but this plot 
failed, for the officer informed Sir John what his father- 
in-law requested. The Governor sent word to the 
King, " that he might save himself the trouble of carry- 
ing on the contrivance/' and Beckwith therefore re- 
turned to the King - . A messenger was sent from 
Parliament to seize him and bring him to London, 
but the King would not permit it. 

His Majesty, suffering severely from disappoint- 
ment, summoned the gentry of Yorkshire to appear on 
the 1 2th of May, 1642, on which clay, in a speech, he 
recounted to them the treason of Sir John Hotham, 
countenanced by the Parliament ; that he had reason 
to apprehend danger, and requested a guard for his 
person, and also desired their assistance. After some 
discussion the guard *'as raised, consisting of a troop 



HULUXIA. 2 1 

of horse and a regiment of foot and the command was 
given to the Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles II. 
In the meantime the Queen, who was still in Holland, 
purchased arms and ammunition — having pledged the 
crown jewels for that purpose — and embarked them in 
the ship Providence. The cargo consisted of 200 
barrels of powder, 3000 stand of arms, and 8 field- 
pieces. Notification was sent to the Admiral of the 
fleet in the Downs ; three ships were sent in search 
of the vessel ; they got sight of her near the coast and 
gave chase until she entered the Humber, intending to 
drive her into this port. Captain Strangham, of the 
Providence, ran her ashore in Kenningham Creek ; the 
pursuing ships drew too much water to follow, and the 
stores were all safely landed. 

Now the King resolved to have his revenge on 
Hull, and this was the first scene of action, which was 
soon followed by others in various parts of the king- 
dom. He summoned the train-bands to attend him at 
Beverley, whither he removed his court, bringing with 
him 3,000 foot and 1000 horsemen. A proclamation 
was issued throughout the whole county, that no one 
on pain of death should convey necessaries into the 
town ; 200 men were set to work in cutting trenches to 
turn the fresh water into the Humber ; and 200 horse- 
men were detached into Lincolnshire, to stop all pro- 
visions being brought in on that side. Two forts were 
ordered to be erected, one at Hessle Cliff, the other at 
Paull, and the Humber to be guarded ; so that a com- 
plete blocade of the town was now established. While 
these operations were going on outside, Sir John 
Hotham was not looking- on idle. He was making 
every precaution within. The walls were fortified, the 
out.vork repaired, the ancient Charter House was blown 
up, all the houses situated in Myton, outside the town, 
were knocked down for fear the royalists should turn 
them into batteries, and every expedient prepared for 
defending Hull, 



2 2 HULLINIA. 

Sir John began to get alarmed when he heard that 
His Majesty intended to march up with his whole 
army to the walls of the town. 1 le therefore dispatched 
three messengers, one after the other, imploring the 
King to desist from his purpose, not to turn his army 
against the town, for that it was his, and all therein his 
loyal and affectionate subjects. But Charles turned a 
deaf ear ; he would no longer be tampered with ; the 
messengers were detained as prisoners. Sir John then 
called a council of war ; they determined to pull up the 
sluices — the banks of the Hull and the Humber were 
cut on both sides, and the land laid under water — the 
whole country was inundated and the damage done to 
the neighbouring villages w T as incredible ; all the forage 
was swept away in this artificial inundation. In the 
morning Sir John sent to Parliament particulars of 
what he had done, desiring them to send him 500 men 
with provisions, stating that " though the highways 
were all flooded and impassable, yet the enemy could 
come to Hull on the banks of the Humber, Hull, or 
Derringham, where they could either make an assault 
or cannonade." The Parliament then raised 2000 
men whom they dispatched to Hull by sea. They 
also sent a declaration into the East Riding of York- 
shire, promising compensation for the damage done 
and condemning the proceedings of the King. 

On the 10th of July, a vessel with recruits ran up 
the Humber, passed the fort at Paull safely, and landed 
in the harbour, to the great joy of the inhabitants. At 
this time firing was heard at a distance. It seems a 
Parliament man-of-war while scouring the Humber, 
had met with a large ship against Paull jetty, laden 
with cannon and ammunition, and on her refusing to 
strike, an engagement ensued, until she went to the 
bottom. 

The Royalists, who had planted some guns before 
the walls, now began to play into Hull, and were 
answered by the cannon upon the fortifications. Sir 



JIULLIXIA. 23 

John was busy animating and inflaming the minds of 
the Parliamentarians, and circulating the report that it 
was intended to fire the town and put all the inhabit- 
ants to the sword, without respect to age, condition, or 
sex. The people were aroused— they became des- 
perate ; they made several sallies from the town, and 
many Royalists were destroyed. An engagement took 
place between the towns-people and Royalists at 
Ahlaby, which, after a vigorous resistance, the Royal- 
ists were forced to evacuate. A magazine in a large 
barn belonging to Wm. Legard was blown up and the 
village plundered. The Royalists were commanded 
by the Earl of Newport, who was taken off his horse 
by a 'Cannon ball and thrown into a ditch, where he 
was discovered insensible. ; 

King Charles addressed the neighbouring country 
in several strong remonstrances, all trying to exculpate 
himself. He bitterly inveighed against Sir John 
Hotham, complaining of the indignity with which he 
had refused him entrance into Hull. 

And now having described what was going on 
outside the walls of the beleaguered town, let us take a 
look inside and see what was being done there. ' 

But I must first digress a little to give some corro-: 
borative evidence of what I have stated concerning the 
trial of Charles the First. I find that the first witness 
examined was one Wm. Cuthbert, of Patrington, 
Holderness. He said, "that in July 1642, he lived at 
Hull Bridge, near Beverley. He did then hear that 
forces were raised for the Kings guard, under Sir 
Robert Strickland, and that about the 2nd of July 1642, 
he saw a troop of- horse come to Beverley, about Four 
or Five o'clock in the afternoon, called the Prince's 
Troop, Mr. J. Nelthorp being the Major, and that he 
saw, that afternoon, the said troop march from Beverley 
into Holderness, where they received ammunition 
brought up by the river Humber ; and the same night, 
there came about 300 foot soldiers under the command 



24 HULLINIA. 

of Lieut. Col. Duncombe, called the Kings Guard, 
unto the deponent's house, called Hull Bridge, about 
midnight, and broke open and possessed themselves of 
the said house, and that the Earl of Newport, the Earl 
of Carnarvon, and divers others, came that night 
thither, and that Sir Thos. Gower, then High Sheriff 
of the County, came thither and left a warrant for stay- 
ing all provisions from going to Hull to Sir John 
Hotham, that he was by the said forces put out of his 
house, and did with his family go to Beverley ; and on 
the Thursday following, he did see the King come 
to Beverley to the Lady Gee's House, where he did 
often see the King with Prince Charles and the Duke 
of York, and that the night after the said forces had 
possessed themselves of deponent's house, Colonel 
Legard's house was plundered by them. This was the 
first act of hostility that was committed in these parts, 
and the deponent produceth the original warrant, and 
is as followeth : — ' It is his Majesty's command that 
you do not suffer any victuals or provisions, of what sort 
soever, to be carried into the Town of Hull, without 
his Majesty's special license first obtained. And of 
this you are not to fail at your peril. Dated at Bever- 
ley, July 3rd, 1642/ " 

The evidence was directed at the single point of the 
military movements personally superintended and car- 
ried on by the King against the Parliamentary forces, 
and the bloodshed thereby occasioned. The first witness 
being from this part of the country, I thought, might 
prove interesting. We will now resume our narrative. 

The King possessed a great confidant in the emi- 
nent George, Lord Digby, by whose advice he had 
been induced to do things which had materially tended 
to widen the breach between him and the Parliament. 
Lord Digby had been accused by the latter of high 
treason. He escaped to Holland, but, hearing of the 
King's critical condition in Yorkshire, he disguised 
himself, came over and conferred with the King in 




Lord Digby. 



(From an Original Portrait.) 



HULLINIA. 25 

secret. He stayed only one night, and re-embarked 
next morning in the same vessel that brought him to 
England. They had not been many hours at sea 
before they fell in with the Providence ship-of-war, 
coming to Hull with stores, to which I have already 
alluded, but just then the ship belonging to Parliament 
came up to them, and the vessel containing Digby was 
taken and brought into Hull. Digby being in disguise 
none knew him. He pretended to be a Frenchmen, 
being able to speak the French language very fluently. 
During the return he pretended to be very sea-sick 
and kept in the hold of the vessel. There he de- 
stroyed his papers, and, feigning illness so cleverly, on 
his landing he was sent under a guard to a place of 
repose. 

Lord Digby knew his dangerous position. He 
began to ruminate how he was to escape from his 
enemies, knowing he would not be much longer able 
to conceal himself. He was also aware that he was 
the worst hated man in the kingdom ; consequently his 
life was in imminent danger. He had another difficulty 
to overcome in the enmity that Sir John entertained 
towards him. But Lord Digby was a man of great 
ability, and did not altogether despair. 

At last he ventured to tell one of the guards in 
broken English that he desired to speak privately with 
the Governor, and could disclose some state secrets. 
The man went to Sir John and acquainted him with 
what he had stated. Lord Digby was brought before 
Sir John who was proficient in French. There was a 
yery large company present. Digby made several 
statements, and, after a sifting examination, requested 
to have a private interview with the Governor. Sir 
John was rather nervous, because he knew that the 
Commons had not much confidence in him, and even 
his son, Captain Hotham, which is rather remarkable, 
was set as a spy over him. Therefore Hotham re- 
fused to trust himself in private. However, he drew 



26 



HULLINIA* 



aside to a large window and told Digby to say what 
he pleased ; Digby finding himself foiled in not obtain- 
ing a. private audience, asked Sir John, in English, if he 
knew him. Sir John answered with astonishment that 
he did not. "Then," says he, " I will try whether I 
know Sir John Hotham, and whether he be the man 
of honour I have taken him to be," and thereupon told 
him who he was, adding that " he hoped he was too 
much of a gentleman to deliver him up a sacrifice to 
the vengeance of those whom, he new, were his impla- 
cable enemies." Sir John was filled with the utmost 
amazement at this discovery, and being apprehensive 
that the persons present would discover him, he told 
Digby "not to say one word more for the present; 
that he should not regret or be sorry for the trust he 
had reposed in him ; that he should find him the same 
man he had thought him ; that he would take an op- 
portunity as soon as he conveniently could, to have 
further conversation with him ; in the meantime, that 
it would be necessary he should take up with the ac- 
commodation he had for a time, as any amendment 
thereof might create suspicion ; that Lord Digby would 
find that he was not what he seemed." Thereupon the 
guard was ordered to remove the prisoner away and 
keep strict watch over him. On his rejoining the com- 
pany, Sir John told them that "the Frenchman was a 
shrewd fellow," and hoped in a few days to inform 
Parliament of much clear information. Shortly after- 
wards he made an excuse and departed to his chamber 
much dejected. 

This serious breach of confidence was the first 
step towards Hotham's downfall. Here he had in his 
clutches the nobleman who had advised the King to 
impeach five members of the House of Commons; 
Digby himself had been impeached of high treason, 
and had to fly his country. A nobleman odious to the 
whole nation — a prisoner in the enemy's garrison, he 
was at the mercy of a man supposed to be devoted to 



HULLINIA. 2 7 

the Commons, and his particular enemy. But Digby 
flattered Sir John's vanity, and was, doubtless, the 
cause of his forgetting at the moment his important 
trust. 

The next day the Governor sent again for Digby 
at an hour when he would not be noticed, and told him 
" That since he had frankly put himself in his hands, 
he would not betray him, and desired to know by what 
means he should set him at liberty ; that he would not 
trust any one with the secret, and least of all his own 
son," against whom, singular to say, he inveighed with 
great bitterness ; u that the parliament reposed more 
confidence in his son than himself, and he was only 
sent there to be a spy upon his father." He then la- 
mented his own fate, " that he was not an extreme man, 
but well-affected to the King; that he should now be 
looked upon as the chief cause of the civil war, which 
was likely to ensue, by refusing the King entrance into 
Hull ; " and concluded by stating " he had received in- 
formation of the King's purpose to hang him ! That 
was the true cause of his acting in the manner he did." 

Lord Digby taking advantage of his confession, 
and having secured his own safety, began to tamper 
with the Governor on behalf of his royal master, who 
at the time was carrying on military operations outside 
the town. Digby laid siege against Sir John, and 
commenced by planting the artillery of artfulness ; and, 
by his insinuating address, tried to tamper with the in- 
tegrity of the Governor. He began by bewailing the 
calamity with which the nation was threatened, and 
pathetically lamented that a few bad men should be 
able to involve him, Sir John, and then followed with 
the alarming statement, " That the King in a short 
time would reduce all his enemies ; that his son-in-law, 
the Prince of Orange, was coming over at the head of 
a large army, and would take Hull in three days." 
The poor Governor became fearfully terrified. Of 
course there was no truth in this statement; but it will 



2$. BPLUKIA. 

be perceived what impression this subtle address made 
on Hotham. He now began to cajole Sir John, by 
adding " That any person who could be the means of 
preventing such terrible confusion as now threatened 
the Kingdom, both the. King and people would join in 
rewarding such a good work with preferments ; that 
his name would be transmitted to posterity as the pre- 
server of his country." Having enlarged on this 
subject, on seeing Sir John silent, he made an imme- 
diate application, telling him, as Nathan said unto 
David -" Thou art the man," and " that by delivering 
up Hull to the King, he might extinguish the war." 
I need hardly add after several conversations and re- 
flections, Hotham gave way to the false promises held 
out to. him by Digby. All things were adjusted. 
Hotham's agreement being, in his own w r ords, " It 
would not become him, after such a defiance as he had 
given, to surrender Hull into the Kings hands, nor 
could he undertake to effect it, if he was willing so to 
do ; the town itself was not well-disposed to the Kings 
service; but that if the King would come before the town 
though with but a single regiment, plant his cannon 
against it, and make but one shot, he should think 
he had discharged his trust to the Parliament, so far 
as lie ought to do, and that he would then immediately 
deliver up the town, which he made no doubt he should 
be able to do, and on this errand he was willing Lord 
Digby should go to York and have a safe conduct out 
of Hull beyond any danger." 

Sir John kept his word, informing his officers of 
his intention to send the " supposed Frenchman to 
York, who, he was well assured, would return to Hull 
again." He gave Digby a note to a widow who lived 
in that city, at whose house he might lodge, and 
through whose hands he might send him any letters to 
Hull. Digby soon found himself at liberty and set out 
for York. Having had a private interview with the 
King, he returned again in his former disguise, keeping 
faith in his engagements with the Governor. 



HULLINIA. 2'g 

Immediately Digby left York, the King began his 
march with merely two or three regiments and a small 
train of artillery. The people were startled at Charles 
being so ill provided for such an undertaking. No one 
being in the secret respecting the arrangement that had 
been made between Digby and the Governor, except 
the King. Lord Lindsey was ordered to send forward 
some officers to reconnoitre the town, and to fix on 
some advantageous place where he might erect a bat- 
tery. He expressed his annoyance at being appointed 
to that post withont an army. He believed he was 
engaged in an enterprise which could not possibly 
succeed. Although Lindsey did not think that the 
trained bands belonging to the town would expose 
themselves to such an attack, he took a survey of the 
town by riding up to the gates and along the whole 
length of the walls. At first there was no show of 
hostility from the town. But in a day or two they 
observed the walls well manned, and presently they 
were fired upon. 

In the meantime, Hotham was busy sounding 
some of the officers in whom he had most confidence 
in order to see if he could rely on their obedience ; but 
much to his disappointment he found them opposed 
to his purpose. It soon got bruited abroad of Sir 
John's intention, and he was suspected. His son was 
the first to be suspicious of him, and it seems, de- 
nounced all those who were disaffected to the govern- 
ment. Sir John became much disheartened, and Digby 
on his return was disappointed to find the Governor 
not so earnest in the Royal cause as when he left him. 
New officers and men were sent down to Hull by sea, 
from Boston, by order of Parliament. Sir John now 
began to repent of what he had done. Digby sent 
word to the King, informing his majesty of the change, 
but was not without hopes of restoring the Governors 
former ardour ; on which the King deferred any actual 
attempt on Hull, 



30 HULLINIA. 

Subsequently Sir John relinquished his design of 
giving up Hull to the King, and dismissed Digby, 
repeating his professions of duty and loyalty to the 
King. There cannot be a doubt that the capture, con- 
cealment, and release of Digby and Col. Ashburnham, 
two such eminent royalists, increased the jealousy of 
the Parliament, and was the principal cause of his 
ultimately loosing his head. 

The King, much disappointed at this miscarriage, 
returned to York. He was charged with weakness by 
his court, and submitted to different imputations 
rather than divulge what he thought the treachery of 
Hotham, which had instigated him to this fruitless 
expedition against the town of Hull. 

Soon after the blockade was given up, (and that 
would be about- the end of July, 1642,) Capt. Hotham 
was detached by his father with a strong party to 
ravage the country and harrass the royalists. He at 
last was met on the wolds by Sir Thomas Glenham, 
who defeated him and cut off most of his detachments. 
Capt. Hotham then retreated to Hull. The war was 
by this time becoming general. Orders arrived com- 
manding Governor Hotham to sally out of the town 
and harass the royalists as much as possible ; in pur- 
suance of which, the two Hothams made terrible 
devastations in Yorkshire, burning, plundering, and 
destroying all before them. Though the royalists had 
been foiled in every attempt on Hull by arms or 
negotiation, a circumstance arose at this time which 
gave them some hope of better success, and again they 
set to work to corrupt Sir John. 

Parliament finding it necessary to have a com- 
mander-in-chief in the North, sent a commission 
to Lord Fairfax to command all their forces in York- 
shire. The appointment of Fairfax to the lieutenancy 
of the North gave umbrage to both Sir John and his 
son. They took resentment against the Parliament, 
and strengthened their respect for Charles. Sir John 



HULLINIA. 3 1 

was much annoyed, considering the eminent services 
he had rendered the Parliamentarians in retaining Hull 
for them, and having run the risk of the King's resent- 
ment. It was no wonder that the Governor became 
disgusted at Fairfax being elevated to that high posi- 
tion. Although the King was much exasperated with 
Hotham's conduct towards him before the gates of 
Hull, a coalition was brought about through the cir- 
cumstances just mentioned. 

A treaty was again set on foot to deliver up Hull to 
Charles through Sir John's resentment and thirst for 
revenge. Very singularly, at the sanie time, Captain 
Hotham turned stubborn and would not receive orders 
from Lord Fairfax. He became involved in his 
fathers feelings and adopted all his sentiments of dis- 
gust to the Parliament, and at least apparently showed 
affection for the King. Sir John put himself in com- 
munication with the Earl of Newcastle. Many letters 
secretly passed on both sides ; the Earl representing 
on tlie part of" the King how seriously he - had been 
injured by the denial Sir John had given him when he 
demanded entrance into Hull, and that the miseries of 
a civil war were to be attributed to that circumstance ; 
still it was in Sir John's power to quench the flames 
then raging in the Kingdom ; he might render the King 
and the nation happy; he might obtain his own par- 
don ; he would by delivering up the town aggrandize 
himself, so as to become one of the first men of the 
nation. 

In the month of February, 1643, the Queen ar- 
rived at Burlington Quay with troops. The second 
day, her landing became known to the Parliament 
Admiral of the fleet, who, finding she lodged on the 
Quay, brought his ships near. Early in the morning 
he discharged an immense quanity of bar shot, for the 
space of four hours, on the house where she was. 
Some of them passed through her chamber, obliged 
her to rise from her bed and take shelter behind a 
bank m the open f*eld. 



32 HULLINIA. 

In confirmation of what I have written, Her 
Majesty shall speak for herself in the following copy 
of an original Letter : — ■ 

" BuiiLiNGTON, this 15-25 February, 1G43. 
My Dear Heart, 

" As soon as 1 landed in England I sent Progers to 
" you, but having learnt to-day that he was taken by the enemy, I send 
" you again this man to give you an account of my arrival. Thanks to 
" God ; for just as stormy as the sea was the first time I set sail, just so 
" calamitous was it this time until within 15 hours of Newcastle; and 
" on the coast when the wind changed to the North- west, which forced 
" us to make for Burlington Bay, and after two hours waiting at sea 
" your cavalry arrived, and I landed instantly, and the next day tho 
. ." rest of the army came to join me. 

" God who took care of me at sea, was pleased to continue his pro- 
* ; " tection by land ; for that night four of the Parliament ships arrived at 
" Burlington without our knowledge, and in the morning, about four 
" o'clock, the alarm was given that we should send down to the harbour 
"to secure our ammunition boats, which had not been able to be un- 
. , •" loaded; but about an hour after, these four ships began to fire so 
" briskly that we were obliged to rise in haste, and leave the village to 
"them— at least the women, for the soldiers resolutely to defend the 
>.' ammunition. In case of descent I must act the Captain, though a 
"little low in stature myself. 

"One of these ships had done me the favour to flank my house, 
" which fronted the pier, and before I could get out of bed, the balls 
" were whistling about in such style that you may easily believe I loved 
" not such music. Everybody came to force me to go out, tho balls 
"beating so on all tho houses, that dressed just as it happened, I went 
" on foot to some distance from the village to the shelter of a ditch, like 
" those at New Market ; but before we could reach it the balls wero 
" singing round us in fine style, and a sergeant was killed twenty paces 
** from me. "We placed ourselves then under shelter, during two hours 
" that they were firing upon us, and the balls passing always over our 
"heads, and sometimes covering us with dust. At last the Admiral of 
" Holland sent to tell them that if they did not cease, he would fire upon 
"them as enemies. This was done a little late, but he excuses himself 
" on account of a fog which he says there wa3. On this they stopped 
"and the tide went down so that there was not water enough for them 
" to ttay where they were. 

" As soon as they were retired, I ventured to my house, and choos- 
"ing tbat they should have the vanity to say that they had made me 
" quit the village. At noon I set out again to come to the town of 
" Burlington, as I had previously resolved. All to-day, they have un- 
" loaded our ammunition in face of the enemy. 

"I am told that one of the Captains of tho Parliament ships had 
" been beforehand to reconoitre where my lodging was. as I assuro you 
" it was well marked, for they always shot upon it. I may truly say 
" that by sea and by land, I have been in some danger, but God by his 
" favour has saved me, and I have such confidence in His goodness as to 
" believe that He will not leave mo in other things, since in this lie has 
" protected mo ; and I protest to you, that in His confidence, I should 
" dare go to the very cannon's mouth, only that we should not tempt 

44 Him. Tbw Uwcr is wilncw of all that has passed; nevcithelcee I 




Henrietta. Queen or Charles I. 



(Fram a scarce and- orig-inallbrtraib.) 



HULLINIA. 33 

11 would not refrain from giving you a relation. It is very exact, and 
* after this, I am going to eat a little, having taken nothing to-day but 
u three eggs, and slept very little. 

u Adieu, my dear heart. 

" As soon as I have arrived at York I will send to you to ascertain 
" how I can come and join you ; but I beg you not to take any resolu- 
u tion until you have tidings from me." 

Gent's. Mag. Vol. xliv. p. 363 and the Queen's proceedings in York- 
shire to London in 1643. 

Sir John hearing of the Queen's arrival, sent 
his son to her in order to treat with her for the 
surrender of the town, and to know what terms they 
could obtain. 

Captain Hotham having been admitted into her 
presence, kissed her hand, and afterwards had a 
private interview with the Earl of Newcastle, during 
which they settled the matter to the mutual satisfac- 
tion of both parties. The Queen soon after sent the 
Lady Bland to Hull, to confer with Sir John, who 
assented to everything she advanced, signed the terms, 
and gave her letters to her Majesty. The Queen's 
emissary returned to her Majesty at York on the 6th 
of June. She sent Lord Digby again to Hull with 
letters to Sir John. Digby pointed out to Sir John his 
particular and personal danger, producing . intercepted 
letters of Fairfax, wherein was shewn a plan for Sir 
John's destruction. Sir John after reading them swore 
he would be revenged, and then and there entered into 
a treaty to deliver up the town on the 28th of August 
following. But Parliament was made cognizant of 
these proceedings, and in order to ascertain the nature 
of the designs hatching in Hull, they employed a Mr, 
Saltmarsh, cousin of the Governor. Saltmarsh wheed- 
led out the whole plot ; at the same time swearing by 
his salvation to further the attempt, and never to 
reveal it. Being now master of every particular, he 
dispatched a messenger to the Parliament, which re- 
warded him with ,£2,000. 

The Queen was now at Newark, and wrote to the 
King, saying "that she stayed there only until she had 
secured Hull" The Governor was entirely ignorant 



;34 -HULLINIA. 

of the treachery of his cousin, and was soon trapped by 
Parliament. He received an order to send his son 
with troops to Nottingham, to join Oliver Cromwell, 
then only a Colonel. Immediately on his arrival he 
was committed a prisoner to the Castle. Captain 
Hotham dispatched a messenger to the Queen at 
: Newark, with orders to tell her " that he was a prisoner 
and soon to be sent to the Parliament ; that she was 
to send troops to rescue him, for which he promised to 
surrender Hull, Beverley, and Lincoln." The messen- 
ger, having arrived at Newark, delivered his message 
to the Queen, who, being suspicious, expressed her 
-doubt of his being the Captain's messenger, "and 
demanded some proof of his enjoying his masters con- 
fidence." The man, who was named John Kay, an 
old confidential servant, said he was the person that 
had delivered a letter to her, from Sir John when 
she was at Burlington. She then promised to do her 
utmost to release him. Soon afterwards Captain 
Hotham found means to escape, and he proceeded to 
Hull by way of Hessle. Sir John feeling indignant at 
the treatment his son had received, called a council of 
war, when it was unanimously agreed that a complaint 
should be made to Parliament against Oliver Cromwell 
for the false accusation and imprisonment of Captain 
Hotham. A long letter was sent, denying any 
treachery on the part of the Governor or his son. It 
was signed by Sir Edward Rhodes, Sir Thomas 
JBinnington, Captain Wm Hotham, Captain Anlaby, 
Robert Legard, (senior), Captain Overton, Captain 
Legard, Captain Bishop, and Major Gooderick. Not- 
withstanding this, the Commons were so well convinced 
of the truth of the information they had received, that 
they made no answer to this remonstrance, but sent 
orders to Captain Meyer, of the "Hercules" man-of- 
war lying in the Harbour, and to Sir Matthew Boynton 
Sir John Hotham's brother-in-law, to consult with the 
Mayor, Mr. Thomas Raikes, to seize the Governor and 



■ HULLIXIA. 35 

' his son, Sir John Rhodes and their adherents, and send 
them up prisoners to London. 

Previous to putting their orders into execution, a 
report was circulated in the town, tending to fill the 
inhabitants with apprehension against the Governor, 
namely, that he intended to burn and plunder the town 
in conjunction with the royalists. The Corporation 
met to consult by what means they should effect the 
capture of the Governor and his son, and executed 
their purpose in the following manner : — Capt. Meyer 
-or Moyer sent ioo men, well armed, from his ship to 
the Garrison-side before daylight to surprize the Castle 
and Block-houses. They secured Captain Hotham, 
and placed a guard on the Governors house, and re- 
mained quiet until daylight, when they sent a party to 
take Sir John Hotham, who, having received timely 
notice, found an opportunity to escape by a back way, 
; attended by six of his body guards, and, meeting a man 
on horseback in the town, he ordered him to dis- 
mount, took his horse, and passed through the guard 
at Beverley Gate, where no orders had reached to stop 
him. 

On hearing of his escape, his pursuers, having 
provided horses, soon followed him. They overtook 
the guard first, and made them prisoners. They also 
elicited that Sir John was making all haste to his house 
at Scorborough, near Beverley, which was fortified with 
men and cannon. When they arrived at Beverley 
Road, his pursuers learned that he had quitted the 
regular route, and proceeded towards Sculcoates and 
thence to Stoneferry, where he hoped to be able to 
cross the river Hull ; but there being no boats about, 
and the tide being too rapid to swim across with his 
horse, he proceeded to Wawne Ferry, where he met 
with the same obstacle. He was therefore obliged to 
pursue the only road left open to him, and rode on 
to Beverley, hoping the news had not preceeded 
him. 



36 HULLINIA, 

Unfortunately he was mistaken, orders having 
reached Colonel Boynton to seize him if he passed that 
way. Sir John dashed into the town, but found 800 
men in arms waiting to receive him. When he came 
up to them, he ordered them to follow him, which they 
did, not knowing what had happened in Hull, but on 
proceeding a little further up the town, he was met by 
the Colonel, who taking hold of his horse's bridle, said 
" Sir John you are my prisoner, and although I revere 
you as my relative, I am obliged with reluctance to 
waive all respect on that account, and arrest you as a 
traitor to the State." To this Sir John answered : — - 
" Well kinsman, since it must be so, I will submit/' or 
words to that effect. At the same time, seeing an open 
lane between him and the soldiers, he suddenly set 
spurs to his horse, and disengaging himself, was 
making off at full speed. The Colonel shouted to his 
men to follow him and knock him clown. He was 
accordingly struck with the butt end of a musket on 
his head which dismounted him in a bleeding condition, 
and taken to the same house where Charles had lodged 
after he had been refused admittance into Hull. Sir 
John was soon after sent under a strong guard to 
Captain Meyer, who, receiving him on board his ship, 
with his son and Sir John Rhodes, set sail for London, 
and delivered them to Parliament, by whom they were 
committed to the Tower. 

A formal charge of high treason was made against 
them. Though they had many friends and the evi- 
dence was very strong against them, they remained 
many months prisoners in the Tower before being 
brought to trial. But when the new party prevailed, 
at the head of which was Cromwell, the two Hothams 
were tried at a court of war for treachery and treason. 
Those who had hitherto protected them, now lost their 
power, and accordingly on the 1st of December, 1643, 
Sir John Hotham and his son were brought to trial at 
the Guildhall, London, before the Earl of Manchester 



HULLINIA. 37 

and others. They were accused of betraying the trust 
reposed in them by Parliament ; of favouring the 
enemy ; of holding correspondence with the Queen, 
the Earl of Newcastle, Lord Digby, and others of the 
royal party ; and of an attempt to betray the town of 
Kingston- upon-Hull to the King. There was also a 
particular charge against Sir John for suffering the 
escape of Lord Digby from Hull when he was there a 
prisoner. The proofs against them were many, by 
actions and by letters which had been intercepted. 
Some were written by the hand of the father, and 
were found among the papers of the Earl of Newcastle 
who had been taken in battle. One letter was brought 
against the son, which had been produced through the 
treachery of his servant. Thirty witnesses were pro- 
duced. Many of the charges were denied but they 
were both convicted, and condemned to lose their 
heads. 

Sir John presented a petition to the House of 
Lords, and the Lords passed a vote to pardon Sir 
John, and desired the concurrence of the Commons. 
But such was the feeling against him, that upon the 
question being put, it was carried in the negative with- 
out a debate. The father was sentenced to die first, 
and the son the day following ; but as Sir John was 
going to execution on Tower Hill — where an immense 
crowd had gathered — a reprieve for three days, arrived 
from the House of Lords. The Commons, highly in- 
censed at this, sent to the Lieutenant of the Tower, 
and ordered him to proceed to the execution of Sir 
John Hotham, " according to the sentence of the Court 
Martial/' 

By this accident it happened that the son suffered 
the day before his father, on the ist of January, 1644. 
He shewed great courage on the occasion, declaring 
" that as for the ungrateful Parliament, he had not been 
guilty of treason towards them, who were the principal 
authors of the rebellion, by waging an unjust war 



38 HULLINIA. 

against their Sovereign and fellow subjects," and with 
great fortitude submitted to the block. 

Sir John, the morning before his execution, pro- 
cured a motion to be made in the House of Commons, 
for his pardon which occasioned a debate. He ex- 
pected the news of a reprieve up to the last moment, 
and his execution was delayed until two o'clock in the 
afternoon, but the Commons did not grant the petition. 
He seemed more apprehensive of death than his son. 
All hope being banished, he composed himself for 
death. He was conducted to the same place, attended 
by Mr. Peters, where he spoke as followeth : — 

" Gentlemen, — I know no more of myself but this, 
that I deserve this death from Almighty God, nay that 
I deserve damnation and the severest punishments 
from Him. But as for the business of Hull, the be- 
traying of it from the Parliament, the ministers have 
all been with me, and given me good counsel ; neither 
was I in any ways guilty of it ; that is all I can say to 
that act. For other offences, rash words, anger, and 
such things, no man hath been more guilty. I beseech 
God to forgive me. I have received as many favours 
as any man from God, and I have been as ungrateful 
as any man could be. But God Almighty, I hope, has 
forgiven me my sins, and I desire you all to pray for 
me, that I may be forgiven. I hope God Almighty 
will forgive me, the Parliament, and the Court Martial, 
and all men that have had anything to do with my 
death. And, gentlemen, I thank this worthy gentle- 
man (H. Peters) for putting me in mind of it, and I 
pray God to bring more things into my memory. And 
gentlemen, look to it all, as I. I have received many 
mercies, and have been unfruitful, ungrateful under 
them ; and God hath let me see, that though for this 
offence whereof I am accused, He hath not done it ; 
yet He hath brought this affliction upon me to save 
my soul, by and through the merits of Jesus Christ : 
for, alas, this affliction is nothing to all my sins. God 



HULLINIA. 39 

Almighty kept me from my trial at St. Albans and 
other places, to bring me to this place, that I hope I 
shall glorify God in, and His blessed name be for ever 
glorified/ 1 ' After he had finished, his head was severed 
from his body. Thus perished Sir John Hotham; 
who, it is said, owed his unhappy fate to his want of 
resolution, and whose unsteady behaviour towards the 
party he espoused was visible from the first time he 
acted for Parliament. He did not intend to proceed to 
such lengths, but his pride and ambition got the better 
of him. He had real affection for the King; he was 
adverse to a civil war, and jealous of the Parliament's 
preference of Lord Fairfax to the Lieutenancy of the 
north ; he was surrounded with spies of his inexorable 
masters ; he consequently fell a sacrifice to their 
merciless system of unrelenting vengeance, recalling to 
the minds of both parties, that he had at length re- 
ceived in his own person, the imprecations he had 
uttered at the w r alls of Hull: — " That God would 
bring confusion on him and his, if he were not a loyal 
and faithful subject to his majesty ! " 

I have now completed the design laid down at the 
beginning of this sketch, of narrating an historical ac- 
count of the Hothams, and the various influences under 
which they acted. Historians have denounced them 
for their vacillating conduct ; but at the period when 
Sir John Hotham was appointed Governor of Hull, 
the great rebellion which soon followed may not have 
been anticipated by him. He was between doubt and 
fear whether Charles would not be able to put his foot 
down and tread out the treason ; the great Cromwell 
at that time, was merely a Colonel in the Parliamentary 
forces. Thus Sir John was placed in a most critical 
position, and everything betokened, what he seemed to 
fear by his conduct, namely, loosing his head. 

And now having finished all I intended, having 
thrown together nearly all the material transactions of 
the Hothams and Hull, space will not permit me to 



4-0 HULLINIA. 

enlarge further on that important historical period, 
which ended in Charles likewise being beheaded. But 
I hope I have sufficiently interested those who are not 
familiar with the subject to take up the remainder of 
the story, and study for themselves the characters and 
abuses that existed at the period of history I have been 
alluding to. You will, in the struggle that followed 
between the ' Cavaliers ' and ' Roundheads/ learn the 
meaning of the sentence — that the people of England, 
when aroused to a sense of duty, are the fountain of 
power — the original seat of majesty. If they find the 
power they have conferred abused by their trustees, 
violated by tyranny, their authority prostituted to 
support violence, or laws grown as pernicious as they 
were in King Charles's reign — then it is their right, and 
what is their right is their duty, to resume that dele- 
gated power, and to extirpate tyranny and oppression. 
The British Constitution is founded on ' common 
good/ on free and equal laws — a Constitution, in which 
the majesty of the people is and has been frequently 
recognised, in which kings are made and unmade by 
the choice of the people — a Constitution, in fine, the 
nurse of heroes, the parent of liberty, the patron of 
learning and arts, the domain of laws, the pride of 
Britain, and the envy of the world. Let all then guard 
our sacred Constitution against the profligacy and 
prostitution of the corrupters and the corrupted. 




OUR ANCIENT CHURCH-YARDS, 



Our Ancient Church-yards. 



HOLY TRINITY. 




few words on the above title, by way of intro- 
duction. I paid a visit recently to the two 
ancient Parish Churches of this town, for the 
purpose of seeing if any alterations had been made 
besides merely restoring them, and, to my surprise, I 
found great changes had taken place not only in the 
sacred edifices themselves, but also in their graveyards. 
Many memorials of men of local rank had been 
removed, and crowds of headstones were huddled to- 
gether in the graveyard adjoining the Holy Trinity 
Church. The two old burial grounds have been 
entirely metamorphosed, and whilst formerly " shattered 
w r ith age, and furrowed with years," they have been, 
thanks to a rather recent enactment, closed for inter- 
ment, the remaining head-stones prostrated, the ground 
levelled, and gravel placed in the interstices. What 
was once green and rank, crowded with grave-stones 
and irregular graves, now presents a smooth and level 
surface. The earth itself was, as it were, saturated 
with what is called the " dust of man," and the whole 
appeared a " hideous and mis-shapen length of ruins." 



44 HULLINIA. 

Sanitary laws for preserving the health of the people 
have prevailed ; and our venerable church-yards are 
now no more resting places for our dead. 

The reader conversant with classics will call to 
mind the beautiful lines translated by Fawks : — 

" Alas ! the meanest flowers which gardens yield, 
The vilest weeds that flourish in the field, 
Which dead in wintry sepulchres appear, 
Revive in spring, and bloom another year ; 
But we, the great, the learn' d, the wise, 
Soon a3 the hand of death has closed our eye3, 
In tombs forgotten lie ; no suns restore, 
We sleep, for ever sleep, to wake no more." 

I am one of those persons who believe that where- 
ever man is placed he becomes in a manner related to 
the locality. The continued presence of objects, of 
whatever kind, exercise an influence upon his thoughts, 
leading him to find pleasure in the remembrance of the 
past. There is always a charm in reviewing bygone 
days. To me there is something peculiarly interesting 
in antiquarian lore. Born, reared, educated, and still 
living under the shadow, as it were, of that stately pile, 
it is somewhat excuseable if I confess that I have a 
strong attachment for the venerable edifice of Holy 
Trinity Church, where, for many centuries, generation 
after generation has met for Divine worship ; and it 
must rejoice all classes and creeds to see it being once 
more restored to something like its pristine glory — not 
exactly to its original state ; for in its infancy it was 
simply " a chapel," and deserved no other appellation. 
The brick portion of the Chancel at the east end is the 
oldest part of the present fabric. The present splendid 
tower was not always of the same lofty height w r e now 
see it ; and by close examination it will be found to 
possess three different styles of architecture. When 
churches were first built towers were not erected, and 
several of the old plans of Hull present Holy Trinity 
without one. From the road, rail or river is seen this 
majestic tower, gladdening the hearts of those who 
have wandered over many seas, and welcoming, as it 



HULLINIA. 45 

were, the exile to his home. Yes, there it stands, braving 
the storm and seeming to brood over the floating tide of 
humanity passing to and fro beneath its shade. And 
as we are hurried on in the rapid tide and through the 
rough waves and billows of time, the tower seems to 
stand up prominent, like a light-house with a revolving 
lantern, sometimes turning its dark side — sounding the 
death knells — sometimes its light side — pealing the joy 
bells. There it stands based on a rock — the rock of 
the past — firm with the strength of ages. It stands 
like a monitory beacon, and has witnessed 

" The race of glory run, 

That marked ambition's setting sun." 

Many generations have passed away in its time. 
Many have gathered about the graves with mournful 
hearts and bitter feelings at the loss of some beloved 
one. Within the walls of the ancient Church many 
joined in prayer and praise — there where 

" Through the long drawn aisles and fretted vault, 
The pealing anthem swells the note of praise " — 

and where pulpit preachers grew eloquent. Where is 
now the lifted arm — the force of words — the well-tuned 
voice — the dispassionate discourse ? All is gone. 
They are fled, as though they ne'er had been. But we 
are told and taught to believe that when the trumpet 
shall sound, the slumbering dust shall awake and rise 
to a life of immortality, resembling the weary bird, 
which, at the close of evening, 

kt Cowers down, and dozes till the dawn of day ; 
Then claps his fledged wings, and soars away." 

It is not necessary to give a detailed descrip- 
tion of the Church of Holy Trinity, seeing that it has 
been so often described by recent writers. I will, 
therefore, simply give a cursory sketch of it as it is at 
present being restored. You are all aware, I daresay, 
that it is the largest parish church in England, with 
one exception. Its plan is cruciform. From east to 
west the extreme length is 272 feet ; the tower rising 



46 HULLINIA. 

from the intersection. The east end is of the Decor- 
ated period ; the Nave, of the Perpendicular. At the 
end of the Nave is a noble recessed doorway and three 
grand windows. The great central window is of nine 
lights, and occupies the entire breadth of the Nave, 
reaching to the parapet. The Clerestory of the Nave 
contains sixteen windows of three lights each. The 
east end abuts on the Market-Place, and contains a 
magnificent window of seven lights, and is filled with 
beautiful specimens of stained glass, containing em- 
blematic figures of different descriptions. The seven 
personages beneath them represent the prophet Isaiah, 
and the remainder, the Apostles. In 1835, three of 
the lower compartments of the window were filled with 
representations of Faith, Hope, and Charity. This 
window measures 40 feet by 20, and since its restora- 
tion, has been filled with stained glass by piece-meal, " 
and consequently is not so effective as the sister 
window at the west end on account of want of uni- 
formity. The west window is filled with splendid speci- 
mens of stained glass in nine divisions illustrative of 
some passages of the Bible, and all bearing on the 
subject of the Holy Trinity. The nine great lights 
are memorials of George Alden, of Sutton Grange and 
Hull, who died in 1844, aged 86 years, and Mary, his 
wife ; Joseph Gee, of Hull, Merchant, who died in 
i860; Robert Martin Craven, of Hull, Surgeon, who 
died in 1859; William Ringrose, of Hull, Merchant, 
who died in 1845, aged 65 years ; William Wooley, 
Clerk of the Peace for the Borough, who died in 1837 ; 
John Taylor, of Hull, Merchant, who died in 1856; 
R. C. Young, who died in 1856, and Anne, his wife, and 
Charlotte and Jessie their children ; Mary Barkworth, 
who died in 1842; and John Cressey, who died in 18 10, 
aged 77 years, and Elizabeth, his wife, who died in 
1778, aged 52 years. 

The Chancel is most spacious in its dimensions. 
Previous to the restoration of the great east window, 



HULLINIA, 47 

the large painting on plaster, of the Lord's Supper, by 
M. Parmentier occupied its place; but when the window 
was completed the painting was removed to Hessle 
Church. It has, however, been recently returned and 
deposited in the transept of Holy Trinity. 

The Transept is supposed to have been added in 
the reign of Edward II., and it is highly probable that 
the Chancel was built at the same time. Mr. Scott, the 
eminent church architect, asserts that the Chancel 
belongs to the 14th century; but Mr. Sheahan is of 
opinion, that on account of the Transept not being in 
proportion with the other parts of the church, it was 
not enlarged when the Chancel was extended or rebuilt. 
Under the first floor the tower has been beautifully 
adorned with a new groined oak ceiling, in keeping 
with the transept style of architecture, (Gothic), highly 
decorated and splendidly illuminated, rich in gilt and 
colouring, designed by Messrs. Burlinson and Grylls, 
London, and ably executed by Mr. Dreyer, Hull. Both 
externally and internally the fabric is undergoing a 
thorough restoration, and in several parts is being ele- 
gantly embellished ; notably, the embattled parapet that 
runs along the ridge of the Clerestory, Aisles and Chant- 
ries, at the east end of the church ; and fortunately there 
were sufficient remains from the crumbling ruins, that 
the Architect was enabled to make out the original 
form and style of architecture as when first constructed, 
and when the dingy walls are removed, and supplanted 
with a light palisading, our ancient Parish Church will 
be one of the most chaste, magnificent, and beautiful 
edifices in Yorkshire. Perhaps it would not be out of 
order before we leave the Tower, to quote Ray the 
naturalist, who visited Hull in the year 1661, and makes 
the following remarks : — " In the morning we went to 
see the great church. The Choir is very fair and 
large, but built of brick. From the steeple we had a 
prospect of the town, which is fair and well built. It is 
fenced with a strong-built wall and a double ditch, with 



48 HULLINIA. 

a high earthwork between them. The Governor of 
the town, at our being there, was the Lord Bellasis." 
He also adds an old saying, that 

M When Dighton is pulled down — 
Hull shall become a great town." 

But my immediate purpose is to give the origin 
and early history of our ancient Churchyards, and from 
the wreck of names memorice sacrce to rescue a few from 
the wreck of oblivion ; for mingled with their hallowed 
dust lie interred illustrious dead — men once famed in 
the early annals of our town, but now " dubious and 
forgot/' 

Soon after the restoration of Charles II., an Act 
was passed restoring expelled ministers to their re- 
spective livings, and appointing others to such as were 
vacant. The Corporation of Hull thought this an 
excellent opportunity for detaching the dependency of 
High Church from the Hessle Parish Church ; the 
former being a Chapel-of-ease to the latter. An Act of 
Parliament for this purpose received the royal assent, 
on the 20th of December, 1661, and Holy Trinity 
thus became a Parish Church. 

The living of Holy Trinity is a Vicarage, not 
in charge, and in the hands of trustees. The Rev. 
Canon Brooke, M. A., is the Vicar ; to whom the town 
is deeply indebted for his indefatigable exertions in aid 
of the restoration and adornment of this magnificent 
edifice. 

Along the south-side of the church extending the 
whole length of the Choir, are the remains of former 
Chantry Chapels. It was an ancient custom for per- 
sons of wealth and position to build small chapels to 
their parish churches, and these were endowed with 
lands sufficient to pay for the maintenance of one or 
more chanters, who were to sing masses at the altars 
erected therein, for the soul of the founder, and those 
of his ancestors and posterity. The High Church had 
at least 20 of these endowed Chantries, and mostly 



HULLINIA. 49 

were on both sides of the Choir. The remains of 
several have been discovered during the present res- 
toration of the building. The first of these on record 
was founded in 1328, by Richard de Gretford, alder- 
man and merchant of this town, who bequeathed a 
messuage lying in Bedford-Lane, on the north side of 
the " Great Chapel of Hull." The same year John 
Rotenherying, merchant, of Hull, founded a Chantry 
here, and Sir Michael de la Pole founded one in 
1380; Richard Ravenser, Arch-deacon of Lincoln, 
in 1385, founded another; Robert de Cross founded 
one in 1408 ; John Gregg founded another in 1420 ; John 
Bedford founded one about the year 1450 ; also, John 
Alcock, Bishop of Rochester — who subsequently be- 
came. Lord High Chancellor of England — in 1489, 
built a small chapel on the south of this church, near 
the " great porch " ; and amongst others were those 
founded by Hugh Hanby (merchant), Madam Darrys, 
Robt. Matthew, Dr. John Riplingham, Thos. Wilkinson 
(alderman), Margaret Dubbing, and John Eland, Kt. 
When King Henry VIII. suppressed all Chantries, 
the rich revenues from endowments were nearly all 
lost to the church. During the restoration of the Nave, 
a monumental arch was found near the Vicar's Porch. 
There is also a similar arch at the east end of the South 
Aisle. Here are several fragments of little square in- 
laid bricks, upon each of which are old English letters, 
and coats of arms of the supposed founders of and 
contributors to the church. When the workmen were 
clearing away the debris of the old chantries adjoining, 
previous to their restoration, several bricks of a similar 
character were found in the floors ; consequently it is 
evident that they have been originally paved with these 
old English tiles. 

Through the courtesy of the Town Clerk, G. C. 
Roberts, Esq., who voluntarily placed at my disposal 
the privilege of examining the ancient records in the 
archives of the Corporation, I have been enabled 



50 IIULLINIA. 

to extract one of many specimens therein, — a copy 
of a curious and hitherto undiscovered record of the 
proceedings of the " Gilde of Blessed Virgin Mary, 
in the Chapel of Sainte Trinity in Kyngeston-upon- 
Hull." It is written on parchment and bound, in 
hog-skin, and on the inner cover is the following : — ■ 

"Memorandum. — That this Book was bought at i Six Oa/cs,' the 
12th dav of December, in the year of our Lord God, 1462, by John 
Eland of Hull. Price, 23s." 

" The Accounts of John Rydesdale, Alderman of the Gilde of our 
Blessed Virgin Marie, in the Chapel of Sainte Trinitie, and John 
"Wylson and Thomas Wynflet, Scnesoallors of the same Gilde, 
the 10th of April, in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Four 
Hundred Seventy and Six, and in the Sixteenth year of the Reign 
of King Edward the Fourth." Amongst other things shewing 
the Annual Income and Expenditure of the said Gilde, it is re- 
corded as follows, viz : — 

ROGER BUSSELL, ) 
WILLIAM ELAND, [ Auditors. 
ROBERT TWYER, ) 

" Jewells belonging unto our Lady Gilde remayng in the kepyng of 

Sjr Robert Davy, Prest of the said Gilde. 
" Fyrst one old hayr for our ladys Alter. 
" Itm 1 newe hayr for the same Alter 
" Itm 1 old Frontell of grene 
" Itm 2 alter clothes of Twyll 
" Itm 1 Frontell of damask wt. Flours of Gold 
" Itm 1 alter cloth of ye same mark 
" Itm 1 alter cloth of whit for lentyn Seson 
" Itm 1 vestement of cloth of gold wt. a corpax of ye same 
" Itm 1 old vestment of whit Fustion 
" Itm 1 Grene vestment wt. a corpax of red 
" Itm 1 Masse buke and 1 chalex 
" Itm 1 Frontell of grene 
" Itm 4 alter cloth of whit of the Crownacion of our Lady SayntKatryn 

and Saynt Margret vyrgyncs and marters in the same 
l< Itm 1 new vestment of whit 
" Itm 1 pruce chust bounden wt. Iron 
" Itm 1 alter clothe of newe clothe 

We must now return to the descriptive portion of 
the church proper. 

Above the Vicars Porch is a Memorial Window 
provided by the family, in stained glass, to the late 
venerable Vicar, Rev. J. H. Bromby, M. A. The centre 
compartment represents Aaron in his full robes as High 
Priest, with the legend " Thy Priests shall be clothed 
with righteousness." In the other compartments (2) 



HULLIXIA. 5 1 

Aaron stands before the Altar of Sacrifice ; (3) Before 
the Altar of Incense ; (4) Before the Holy of Holies, 
and (5) Cleansing the Leper. 

Henry VIII, granted the house and site, and all 
houses, buildings, orchards and gardens belonging to 
the White Friary, to John Heneage, which subse- 
quently became the property of Mr. Alderman Ferres, 
who, in 162 1, granted the same to the Trinity House. 

The earliest notice of a place of religious worship 
in Hull, was in the reign of King John, 1204, when we 
find the Monks of Melsa were compelled to re-build a 
chapel here, which they had destroyed previous to 
that year, and before the building of High Church. 
Doubtless Divine service was performed almost from 
the beginning of the town's foundation, though, perhaps 
as Gent says, " in little chapels of wood " ; for the late 
Dr. Alderson possessed a " Piscina," which was said to 
have been dug up on the site of the ancient Chapel of 
Myton. The late Mr. Frost says on the authority of 
a respectable eye-witness to the disinterment of bodies 
in the year 1787, when a paddock belonging to Wm. 
Casson was opened out for the purpose of making 
bricks, that, at a little distance below the surface of the 
earth in different parts of the close, about 70 skeletons 
were found. This paddock, he seems to think, was the 
burial ground of the Chapel of Myton. The site of 
this field is now what is known as Lister-Street. Mr. 
Thomas Thompson, F.S.A., says, that he has reason 
to believe, that the Chapel in Myton destroyed by the 
Monks of Melsa, stood upon a part of the present site 
of Holy Trinity Church. This we do know, that in 
1296, Hull possessed a Priory of Carmelite Brethren 
and a stately Chapel, which now forms the Chancel 
of the Church of Holy Trinity. In the certificate re- 
turned by one Leonard Beckwith, [dated 12th August, 
30th Henry VIII.] upon the survey of the estates 
belonging to Sir Wm. Sidney, Kt., the Carmelite 
Chapel in Hull is thus mentioned ; — " Also there are 



52 HULLINIA. 

two howses of Freers wythin the sayd towne of 
Kyngston-upon-Hull, the oon call'd the Whyht Freers, 
and thother the Austyne Freers, and the chauncel of 
the churches of the sayd Freers, wyth part of the 
cloysters, be coverd with lead and the sayd Sir William 
is founder of them." (ex orig.) 

In the year 13 12, as the people began to flourish, 
they were inspired to raise a building which was more 
becoming the peformance of Divine worship. How- 
ever we have no historical account of the existence of 
any church or chapel, until 1285, when, according to a 
MS. in the British Museum, the High Church was 
founded as a chapel by James Helward, the mother 
church, as the MS. states, being at Hessle. The 
family of Helward, or Helleward was of considerable 
importance in Hull at a very early period. Adam 
Helleward, in 1301, resided on the west-side of High- 
Street, according to the town records. In his will, 
which is preserved in the records of the Corporation, he 
states : — " In the first place I commend my soul to 
God, and my body to be buried in the churchyard of 
the Holy Trinity of Kingston-upon-Hull," &c. In 
1325, one Walter Helleward was Collector of the 
Customs at Hull conjointly with Richard de la Pole, 
and in 1341 and 1342 he filled the office* of Mayor of 
the town, while one John Helleward held the post of 
Bailiff of the Borough in. the years 1338, 1339 and 1340. 

Gent and the other historians must have made a 
mistake in the date 1312, because we have the evidence 
of the pastoral letter of Archbishop Corbridge ad- 
dressed in 1 30 1 to the Prior of Gisburne, patron of the 
Hessle Church, asking for the dedication of a cemetery 
to the Chapel of the town of " Kingstone " — thus show- 
ing that there was a chapel then standing, though 
without any burial ground attached. PI is reason is thus 
given, " that in conveying the bodies of deceased per- 
sons along the banks of the Plumber for interment at 
the Parish Church of Hessle, it sometimes happens, 



HULLINIA. 53 

in the winter especially, that both bodies and atten- 
dants are washed away by the waters of the river, and 
at other times the people are exposed to great danger, 
etc. Dated Burton, March 18th, in the 2nd year of 
our pontificate, A.D., 1301." The burial ground is 
described in the will of John Schayl, in 1303, who 
bequeathed ^20 to be paid out of his estate, and 
required to be buried in the churchyard. 

The family of Schayl, who lived in " Scale-Lane/' 
and had the principal part of the property there, 
gave it its modern name. It is called "Scailane" in 
an original deed, dated 6th May, 1433, " whereby an 
annual rent of 100s, w T as made payable out of a 
messuage there, adjoining upon the premises late of 
William Froste and then of John Box." 

In the year 1320, the chapel-yard being too 
small for the town, the inhabitants petitioned King 
Edward II. to grant them a certain piece of ground, 
called " Le Hailles," lying at the west end of the 
church, which he accordingly did. 

Borlase says, " the wakes and feasts instituted in 
commemoration of the dedication of parochial churches 
were highly esteemed among the primitive christians, 
and regularly kept on the Saint's day to whose memory 
the church was dedicated. On the eve of this day, 
prayers were said and hymns were sung all night in 
the church ; and from these watchings the festivals 
were styled Wakes, which name continues in many 
parts of England, although the vigils have been 
long abolished. Hospinian cites in his Fourth Book 
of the " Regnum Papisticum" a picture of the excesses 
used in his time, at the Feast of Dedication ; thus 
translated : — 

" The Dedication of the Church is yerely had in minde, 

With worship popish catholicke, and in a woundrous kfnde : 

From, out the steeple hie is hangde a cross and banner fayre ; 

The pavements of the temple strowde with hearbes of pleasant ayre ; 

The pulpets and the aulters all that in the church are seen, 

And every pewe and pillar great ar deckt with boughes of greene ; 

The tabernacles opened are, and images are drest, 

But chiefly he that patron is, doth shine among the rest," &c. 



54 HULLINIA. 

At a Newcastle wake, in 1 758, the following notice 
was circulated : — " On this day (May 22) the annual 
diversions at Swalwell will take place, which will con- 
sist of dancing for ribbons, grinning for tobacco, women 
running for smocks, ass races, foot courses by men, 
with an odd whim of a man eating a cock alive, 
feathers, entrails, &c." These holy feasts are not yet 
altogether abolished ; and in the County of Durham, 
Hutchinson, in his History, says that many are yet cele- 
brated. They were originally Feasts of Dedication 
in commemoration of the consecration of churches, in 
imitation of Solomon's great convocation at the con- 
secration of the Temple at Jerusalem. In Sir Aston 
Cokain's Poems, 1658, p. 210, is the following : — 

" To Justice Would-be." 

" That you are vext their walces your neighbours keep, 
They guess it is because you want your sleep ; 
Therefore wish that you your sleep would take, 
That they (without offence) might keep their wake" 

A word or two upon the anniversary of the dedi- 
cation of the two Churches of Holy Trinity and Saint 
Mary. These were commonly called feasts, wakes, 
or ales. (The word wake is derived from the Saxon 
wak, drunkenness.) The Hebrew nation constantly 
keep their anniversary of dedication in remembrance 
of Judas Maccabeus, their deliverer, and in commemo- 
ration of the dedication of their Temple at Jerusalem. 
So it became an ancient custom among the early 
christians of this island to keep a feast every year, in 
remembrance of the finishing of the building of their 
parish churches. As I have shewn, great irregularities 
and licentiousness crept in, especially in the church- 
yards ; but in the reign of Henry VIII, statutes were 
made to regulate and restrain them. Hull was not free 
from this kind of dissipation. The first intention of 
this watching was good and pious, till at length from 
hawkers and pedlars coming here to sell their petty 
wares, the merchants set up stalls and booths in the 
churchyards, and not only those who lived in the two 



HULLINIA. 55 

parishes to whom the churches belonged resorted 
thither, but numbers from the adjoining towns and 
villages. The wakes continued in Hull until the reign 
of James I, when they were suppressed by the then 
Archbishop of York. The High Church wake was 
held on the ioth of March, and St. Mary's the 8th. 

Another peculiar custom was that of planting trees 
in churchyards, which seems to derive its origin from 
ancient funeral rites. Historians think they were 
planted to screen the churches from the wind, and that 
as churches were built low at this time (in the reign of 
Edward I.), the thick foliage of the yew tree answered 
the purpose better than any other, and protected the 
edifices from storms. The old historian Gent says, 
that the trees were planted in the churchyards so that 
the people might refresh their souls by contemplation 
under them, after Divine service. In 1462, the Vicar 
of Holy Trinity sent for Robert Tetney and Richard 
Wright, hewers of wood, whom he ordered to cut 
down one of the largest and most ornamental trees, for 
reasons best known to himself. They had scarcely 
obeyed his commands before the Mayor of Hull heard 
of it, and sending for them committed both to prison 
for daring to commit such an action without advice and 
consent of the bench and churchwardens ; and on the 
next Hall day, sending for the Vicar, told him " That, 
by the constitution of the church, neither he, his pre- 
decessors, or any other person, had power to destroy 
what was placed there for the preservation of that 
venerable building ; " the Vicar humbly craved their 
pardon, but was ordered at his own expense to plant 6 
trees in the churchyard, for that one he had ordered to 
be cut down ; all which the good Vicar performed 
accordingly. 

Perhaps it would not be unadvisable here to leave 
our special subject for a short period whilst I allude to 
church bells. 

I have not been able to learn when bells were first 



56 HULLINIA. 

rung in the tower of the High Church. The lower 
portion of the tower, which is 147J feet high, is part of 
the original structure, and was formerly only a few feet 
from the roof of the church. The upper stages, that is 
the belfry, &c, are of a later date, and any one can see 
with the naked eye where it has been lengthened. 
During the mayoralty of William Fenwick (1727), a 
new set of bells was hung in the steeple which were 
rung for the first time on the 17th of April. Neither 
have I been able to ascertain precisely the date of the 
invention of bells. The ancients had some sort of 
bells, for I find the word tintinnabula, which we usually 
render bells, in Martial, Juvenal, and Suetonius. Bells 
were used by the Romans to summon them to their 
hot baths. The Hebrews, according to Josephus, used 
trumpets. The Turks do not permit the use of them 
at all. In an account of the gifts made by St. Dunstan 
to Malmsbury Abbey, it says, " That bells were not 
very common in that age, for that prelate's liberality, it 
is said, consisted chiefly in such things as were wonder- 
ful and strange in England, among which he reckons 
the large bells he gave them." 

Bells were known among the Persians and Greeks 
at an early period, and the early christians in Italy 
naturally applied them to denote the hours of devotion ; 
but it does not appear that large bells were used in 
churches to summon the people to Divine worship 
before the sixth century. According to Bede large 
bells such as sounded in the air, and called a numerous 
congregation together, were not adapted to the use of 
the Anglo-Saxon church, until the year 680. 

In catholic times, here, it has been customary to 
toll the passing bell at all hours of the night as well as 
by day; as the following extract from the church- 
warden's accounts for the Parish of Wolchurch, A.D. 
1526, proves; " Item, the clerke to have for tollynge 
of the passynge belle, for manne, womanne, or childes, 
if it be in the day, iiijd. Item, if it be in the night, for 



HULLINIA. 57 

the same, viijd. ,> See Strutt's Manners. In Ray's 
Collection of Old English Proverbs is the following 
couplet : — 

w When thou dost hear a toll or knell, 
Then think upon thy passing bell." 

Bourne considers the custom as old as the use of 
bells themselves in christian churches, i.e., about the 
seventh century. Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History, 
speaking of the death of the Abbess of St. Hilda, says 
that one of the sisters of a distant monastery, as she 
was sleeping, thought she heard the well-known sound 
of that bell which called them to prayers when any of 
them had departed this life. The Abbess no sooner 
heard this than she raised all the sisters, and called 
them into the church, where she exhorted them to pray 
fervently, and sing a requiem for the soul of their 
mother. In Copley's Wits, Fits, and Fancies, 1614, 
p. 196, concerning " The ringing out at the burial" is 
this anecdote : — " A rich churl e and a beggar were 
buried at one time, in the same churchyard, and the 
bells rung out a maine for the miser: now, the wiseacre 
his son and executor, to the end the world might not 
thinke that all that ringing was for the beggar, but for 
his father, hired a trumpeter to stand all the ringing 
while in the belfrie, and betweene every peale to sound 
his' trumpet, and proclaime aloude and say, sirres, this 
next peale is not for R., but for maister N., his father/' 
Bells were a great object of superstition among our 
ancestors. Aubrey, in his Miscellanies, p. 148, says 
11 At Paris, when it begins to thunder and lighten, they 
do presently ring out the great bell at the Abbey of St. 
Germain, which they do believe makes it cease. 
The like was wont to be done heretofore, in Wiltshire. 
When it thundered and lightened, they did ring St. 
Adeline's bell at Malmesbury Abbey." Dr. Frances 
Herring in " Certaine Rules, Directions, or Advertise- 
ments for this time of pestilentiall Contagion," 1625, 
advises thus "Let the bells in cities and townes be rung 



58 IIULLINIA. 

often, and the great ordnance discharged ; thereby the 
aire is purified. " 

" The passing bell," says Grose, " was anciently 
rung for two purposes, one to bespeak the prayers of 
all good christians for a soul departing." An old 
proverb says — 

" When the bell begins to toll, 
Lord have mercy on the soul." 

When Lady Catherine Grey died a prisoner in 
the Tower, Sir Owen Hopton, who had then the 
charge of that fortress, u perceiving her to draw towards 
her end, said to Mr. Bokeham, were it not best to 
send to the church, that the bell may be rung. And 
she herself hearing him, said, ' Good Sir Owen let it 
be so/ Then immediately perceiving her end to be 
near she entered into prayer, and said, \ O Lord, into 
thy hands I commend my soul/ and so putting down 
her eyelids with her own hands, she yielded unto God 
her meek spirit, at 9 of the clock in the morning, the 
27th January, 1567." 

As my remarks must necessarily be exclusively 
confined to the subject of death, I need not pursue the 
matter further, having given sufficient for my purpose. 
I will, however, narrate a very singular circumstance 
in connection with the Holy Trinity Church and 
its bells. 

In 1522, the church was put under an interdict. 
The windows and doors were closed with briars and 
thorns ; the pavement torn up ; and the bells, " once 
hallowed by baptism, as tho' their sounds should drive 
evil spirits afar/' as an old historian states, by way of 
parenthesis, were stopped, so that there was no tolling 
for prayer, or at the soul's departure from the body, no 
worship performed within the walls, neither christian 
burial allowed therein, or even in the churchyard, and 
every person who presumed to enter the place lay 
under an anathema. But no reason is assigned for this 
severe sentence. It is said by some historians, that it 



HULLINIA. 59 

was for preaching a sermon against the Roman religion ; 
because some years after the vicar of North Cave was 
forced, in this town, to make public recantation of what 
he had delivered from the pulpit ; and was obliged on 
Sunday and market-day, to walk round the church in 
his shirt only, his arms, legs, and feet being quite bare, 
and, besides, to carry a large faggot, as though he 
deserved burning for what was then looked upon to 
be his great capital offence. 

Returning to the subject of interments, I will now 
proceed to select a few inscriptions on some of the 
memorials of the many eminent inhabitants that lie 
buried in the High Church and graveyard. The 
custom of laying flat stones in our churches and church- 
yards over the graves of the better class of persons, 
on which are inscribed epitaphs containing the name, 
age, character, &c, of the deceased, has been trans- 
mitted from very ancient times, as appears from the 
writings of Cicero and others. A brief statement of 
the mode of interment practised by the ancients, 
will not be out of place It is astonishing to read 
with what religious respect all nations, through all 
ages, have paid tribute to the memory of the dead. 
The earliest record of the disposition of the dead is to 
be found in Sacred History. It is there stated that 
Abraham purchased of Ephron, the Hittite, the cave of 
Machpelah, for a burial place, in which were interred 
his wife Sarah and himself, and subsequently Isaac and 
Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. This clearly shews that 
the bodies in those days were committed to earthly 
burial. The early Christians followed the practice of 
interment in accordance with their religious opinion 
" earth to earth." We are informed that the early 
Germans, who possessed immense forests, creating a 
ready supply of fuel, burned their dead. The practice 
of burning is of great antiquity, and was generally 
adopted by the Ancients. There are noble descrip- 
tions in Homer of the obsequies of Patroclus and 



•60 HULLINIA. 

Achilles. In the reign of Julian, we find that the king 
of Chaonia burnt the body of his son, and interred the 
ashes in a silver urn. The Egyptians were afraid of 
fire — therefore by precious embalmment, and afterwards 
by deposition in dry earth, they contrived the most 
certain way of integral preservation. The Scythians, 
who swore by wind and sword, that is, by life and 
death, were so far from burning their bodies, that they 
declined all interment, and made their graves in the 
air. The custom of the Greeks and Romans, after 
burning the body, was to collect the bones and ashes, 
place them in urns, and deposit them about a yard 
deep in the earth. Many urns have been found in 
several parts of England, containing skulls, teeth, and 
jaws, bearing impressions of combustion. Near some 
of these Roman urns, coals and incinerated substances 
have been dug up. The urns have varied in size. 
This was to distinguish the great ones of the earth — 
showing that through all ages there has been a desire 
to be distinguished from the vulgar. Some had golden 
urns-— these were the first to have their bones dis- 
turbed. Great Princes affected great monuments. 
Ulysses cared not how meanly he lived, so that he 
might have a grand tomb after his death. Pyramids, 
arches, and obelisks, all go to show the vain-glory and 
mammoth pride of the Ancients. 

The ancient Britons — the aboriginal inhabitants of 
this country — buried their dead, not in churchyards or 
cemeteries as we do, but on the wolds and high places, 
scattered in every direction. They raised mounds of 
earth over the remains of the dead, and those mounds, 
barrows, or tumuli, were more or less elevated, accord- 
ing to circumstances connected with the locality, or 
according to the power or influence of the deceased. 
There are many ancient barrows in various parts of 
Yorkshire, especially in the south-eastern part of the 
county, or the wold district, several of which have been 
opened, and found to contain clay urns, burnt bones, 



HULLINIA. 6 1 

and unburnt skeletons. Hence it is clear that the 
Britons burnt some of their dead — probably the bodies 
of persons of rank — and deposited the ashes in 
sepulchral urns. 

The Romans too practised cremation. When a 
Roman died, his body was laid out and washed, and a 
small coin was placed in his mouth, which, it was sup- 
posed, he would require to pay his passage in Charon's 
boat. If the corpse was to be burnt, it was carried on 
the day of the funeral in solemn procession to the 
funeral pile, which was raised in the place set apart for 
the purpose, called the Ustrinum. The pile was built 
of the most inflammable wood, and when the body was 
placed upon it, the whole was ignited by the relations 
of the deceased. When consumed, and the fire ex- 
tinguished, the nearest relatives gathered what re- 
mained of the bones and cinders of the dead and placed 
them in an urn, in which they were committed to the 
grave. Persons of rank were burnt with greater cere- 
monies than were observed on ordinary occasions, and 
on a spot chosen for the purpose, instead of the 
ordinary Ustrinum. Thus, when the Roman Emperor, 
Severus, died at York in the year 211, — York being 
then the capital of Roman Britain — his remains were 
reduced to ashes about 1^ miles westward of the city, 
on the mound ever since known as " Severus Hill!' 

But the Romans had other modes of sepulture 
besides that of cremation. The bodies were sometimes 
buried entire, but in somewhat different manners. The 
remains of the higher classes were sometimes deposited 
in sepulchral chests made of huge blocks of stone. 
These were generally very massive, formed out of the 
solid rock, and covered with a roof-shaped or flat lid. 
Massive chests or sarcophagi of this description appear 
' — from their forms and inscriptions — to have stood 
above ground, and they present a very peculiar mode 
of sepulture. After the body had been laid apparently 
in full dress, on its back, at the bottom of the sar- 



62 HULLINIA. 

cophagus, liquid lime was poured in, until the whole of 
the body was covered except the face ; this becoming 
hard, has preserved to a certain degree an impression 
of the form of the body, of which the skeleton is often 
found entire. Several examples of this mode of sepul- 
ture may be s^cn in the grounds and museum of the 
Yorkshire Philosophical Society at York. It is re- 
markable that the Roman tombs, with interments of 
this description found at York, generally contain the 
remains of ladies. In some instances the colour of the 
dress in which the corpse had been arrayed, has been 
transferred to the lime in which the body was enveloped. 

The practice of burying within church porches 
commenced in the days of Cuthred. The clergy, on 
account of their sacred functions, and the nobility of 
high rank, claimed to be interred within the temple. 
Founders of churches, and benefactors, became in- 
vested with the same right. Thus the privilege, which 
had only been conceded to individual merit, increased 
so rapidly, that the interiors of churches up to a recent 
period were crowded with the dead. Many places of 
worship, by repeated interments within, and inhumation 
around, caused emanations to arise from animal pu- 
trescence, that the atmosphere on all sides became 
impregnated with the odour of the dead. Of late years 
it has been found that churches were not intended 
for places of sepulture. The Government, deeming it 
a duty, closed all the burial grounds in cities and 
boroughs. 

The French nation were the first in providing 
suburban sepulture. The cemetery called " Pere la 
Chaise," was the first established. It is situated in the 
north-eastern suburbs of Paris, and continues to this 
day one of the most beautiful places of burial. It was 
formerly the property of the Order of Jesuits, with an 
elegant mansion attached, and was the country resi- 
dence of Father la Chaise, the confessor of Louis XIV. 

The Hebrews were the first nation to bury with- 



HULLINIA. 63 

out the cities, in fields, or in their gardens, and their 
burial habits, according to the Scripture, have not been 
departed from to this day. Of late years cemeteries 
have been formed in the vicinity of towns, and it is 
worthy of note to see the great change which the 
opening of modern cemeteries has introduced, especially 
in the fashion of mortuary memorials. A superior 
classical taste has superceded the old style of brick 
vault The modern cemetery may be termed, as the 
Moravians call them, " Fields of Peace ;" for by the turf- 
clad mound of some beloved friend we are reminded 
of the past, and directed to the future. These visits 
now and then are soothing, and seem to remind us that 
the grave is the house appointed for all living. Such 
feelings and reflections could not be indulged in, when 
interments took place in the crowded, walled-in church- 
yards, surrounded on all sides by the overlooking 
habitations of the living, and exposed to every sort of 
intrusion. Our old churchyards have undergone great 
changes since they were closed. The stones that still 
exist have been prostrated. Some of them exhibit 
much excellence of lettering and are of great antiquity ; 
but there are very few inscriptions of a quaint or 
curious character. The limits of this volume will only 
allow my mentioning a few names of the illustrious 
men of rank that are interred in the Holy Trinity 
Church. 

Near the vestry door on the south wall of the 
Choir is the following inscription, written in Latin, 
and thus translated : — " Not far from this place lie 
interred George Barker, Knight, the father, (grand- 
father and great-grandfather) of George Barker, Esq., 
who, after he had done and suffered much for his king 
and country, especially for gallantly defending New- 
castle, against the rebellious Scots, at last submitted to 
an unequal fate, unworthy his great deserts, the 4th of 
August, 1669. But God would not suffer so great 
virtue to lie concealed. Though he died obscurely, he 



64 IIULLINIA. 

was buried honourably; the Colonel of the Militia and 
the whole train-band attending his funeral, as a mem- 
orable example of valour and loyalty. At last, having 
lain buried more than 40 years, his nephew, Thomas 
Baker, Bachelor in Divinity, in St. John's College, in 
Cambridge, the heir, not more of his virtues, than of 
his adverse fortunes, pitying the unhappy fate of his 
dear grandfather, out of his great affection, caused this 
funeral monument to be erected in the year 1710." 

On the south side of the Chancel, on the ground, 
the effigies in brass are those of an alderman and his 
lady, with another Latin inscription, thus rendered : — 
" Here, O Richard Bylt, thou liest buried, (formerly an 
alderman and a merchant of good reputation) who died 
in two days' time, by the pestilence, in the year 1401." 
At the feet of the lady's effigy, also on the ground, is 
another Latin inscription : — " The earth being closed 
upon thee, thou art in silent rest, who lately enjoyed 
deserved honour, and was beloved for thy generous 
disposition, proceeding from an upright heart. This 
gentlewoman died in the month of October, in the 50th 
year of her age, and is now gone into the regions of 
bliss ; where, may she live happy for ever." 

There was, at the west end of the church, an 
epitaph upon the death of Wm. John Carleton, master 
mariner, lost in his long boat, 18th of November, 1674, 
aged 41 years, and son of William Carleton, merchant, 
sheriff, anno 1668 : — 

" Here rests his mortal part asleep again, 

Who was once saved nodding in the main, 

But cast the second time on Thetis' lap 

Ah ! providence sent none to hand him back ; 

The curl'd billows wept to see him lie, 

Divested of his immortality ! 

They found his remains above the deep, 

And now his dust does with his fathers sleep ; 

Waiting awaking, when all tempests co;iso, 

And tossed bodies land in perfect peace." 

Upon the same stone is the following: — " Now rests 
in his eldest son's urn, that divine philosopher William 
Carleton, gentleman, whose great wisdom and learning 



HULLINIA. 65 

made him useful and desirable. He lived and died 
like a christian, April 17th, 1705, in the 84th year of 
his age." There are very few monuments in the 
church. The most remarkable one is in the south wall. 
The early historians are silent as to whom this monu- 
ment is intended ; but it is supposed by some to 
include the effigies, in alabaster, of Sir William cle la 
Pole and his wife, because they were buried in the 
chancel of this church. The figures are under a 
pedimental canopy. Sir William de la Pole, Earl of 
Suffolk, died in disgrace in France. Their effigies are 
supposed by Tickell to have been brought from the 
Charter House, where it is just possible his body was 
laid in state when it was brought home. At the dis- 
solution of monasteries, these effigies were placed at 
the door of an old chantry, founded by the Earl. 
Tickell also says, that the ground or vault under the 
effigies had been opened, as low as the foundation, 
but no trace was found of human remains. There 
are some old chantries or chapels yet left standing on 
the south side of the church. Previous to the Re- 
formation there were at least twenty of those small 
chapels. One of them was used by the Corporation 
as a Council Chamber ; but it was so cold that they 
forsook it about 180 years ago. The chantries re- 
maining have just been beautifully restored, and a few 
of the fragments of stained glass, that escaped destruc- 
tion by the fanatical mob of the 1 7th century, have been 
re-set in a window of one of the chantry chapels. 

In the floor of the north Aisle of the Nave is the 
grave slab of " The worshipful Joseph Field, twice 
Mayor of this town, and merchant adventurer," who 
died in 1627, aged 63 : — 

" Here is a Field sown, that at length must sprout, 
And 'gainst the ripening harvest's time break out ; 
When to that Husband it a crop shall yield, 
Who first did dress and till this new sown Field : 
Yet ere this Field you see, this crop can give, 
The seed first dies, that it again may live." 
" Sit Dens amicus, 
Sanctis, vcl in Sepulchris spea est.' 1 

K 



66 HULLINIA. 

Taylor, the water poet, alludes to this Wm. Field 
in his description of Hull in 1662. 

The following inscription is on the north of the 
altar : — " Here lieth the body of the worshipful John 
Ramsden, twice Mayor of this town, and merchant 
adventurer, who departed in the true faith of Christ, 
anno 1637 : — 

Mors omnibus communis.'" 

A fearful scourge happened during his mayoralty. 
This good merchant was one of the hundreds of 
persons that fell by a plague in the year 1638. This 
plague, which was raging in many seaports, also broke 
out in Hull. No wise precaution was able to prevent 
the contagion. The gates of Hull were soon ordered 
to be shut ; a strict guard was placed day and night in 
order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in ; 
and the watchmen only were allowed to receive pro- 
visions at places appointed for that purpose. No 
societies were permitted to meet ; the churches and 
schools were closed ; scarce any one walked the streets ; 
grass grew between the stones of the pavement; every- 
thing bore the stamp of melancholy ; and all seemed 
buried in solemn silence. In 1638, the sickness in- 
creased by the intemperature of the air ; the market 
was cried down ; provisions, brought from neighbouring 
villages, were obliged to be delivered at the garrison- 
side and afterwards forwarded on sledges to the Town's 
Cross to be disposed of; and trade and commerce sank 
into a gloomy state. This was the deplorable situation 
of above 2000 inhabitants of this town, who from 
opulent positions became piteous objects of charity ! 
Those who could afford it were heavily taxed weekly, 
to support the afflicted. The number that perished 
was about 2,730 persons. This pestilence continued 
unabated until about the 16th of June, 1639, when it 
ceased. It was about the middle of the visitation that 
Mr. Ramsden became a victim. He was a gentleman 
of great erudition, remarkable piety, and universal 



HULLINIA. 67 

esteem. The Rev. Andrew Marvell. from the pulpit 
of the church, delivered to a weeping congregation a 
funeral sermon — afterwards printed — in moving oratory, 
urging all who heard him to bear cheerfully whatever 
might happen to them in their lamentable condition. 

At the west end of the church, on a grave stone, 
is pointed out the resting place of "Alderman Anthony 
Lambert, sometime Mayor of this corporation, who took 
to wife, Anne, the daughter of Mr. George Saltmarsh 
of this town, and by her had 8 sons and 5 daughters, 
and after he had lived 58 years piously towards God, 
faithfully towards his friends, and useful in his station 
to all, he departed this life the 28th of May, 1688, 
much lamented/' He held the office of Chamberlain 
in 166 1, and was Mayor of Hull in 1667 and 1682. 
On the restoration of King Charles II., 1662, his Ma- 
jesty was proclaimed on Monday the 8th of May. The 
news reached Hull on the 17th. Colonel Charles 
Fairfax, Governor, with the aldermen in their scarlet 
robes, met the day following and walked in procession 
to the Market- Place, where a scaffold had been pre- 
pared covered with red cloth, which they ascended, 
and the Mayor in a loud voice proclaimed his Majesty 
the King over the British realms. Trumpets sounded, 
drums beat, cannon roared, and the air seemed rent 
with acclamations. The common prayer up to this 
period, was read under the Market Cross by the Rev. 
Wm. Smith, surrounded by multitudes of devout 
people, which occasioned an order for such books to 
be procured for the two churches which were after- 
wards kept more sacred. The fonts for baptism were 
set up as usual, and the communion tables railed in 
below the ancient altar. The old Market Cross was 
at this period pulled down, and a new one erected. 
A spirited and original half-length portrait of this 
personage is now to be seen in the Property Committee 
room of the Town Hall. He is represented in his 
mayors robes of office, and is one of the very few of 



68 HULLINIA. 

our ancient worthies, whose portraits are preserved in 
that building. 

In the Aisle of the Chancel is a plain epitaph as 
follows : — " Here lieth the body of the Right Worshipful 
Sir John Lister, Knight, twice Mayor of this town, 
who died, being a Burgess of Parliament, Deer. 23rd, 
A.D. 1640." It was during the mayoralty of this good 
and worthy knight that King Charles I. visited Hull, 
and was very hospitably treated by him, the King being 
his guest at his house in High-Street, better known 
now as " Wilberforce House/' The following historical 
account of what took place in Hull at that remarkable 
period may not prove unacceptable : — ■ 

" Towards the end of April, 1639, King Charles I., 
with a great and splendid retinue of dukes, earls, lords, 
knights, and gentry, set out from London to York, 
and so to his army in the north ; but being for some 
private reasons advised first to take a view of this town, 
he consented to it, and sent the Mayor word thereof 
two or three days beforehand, which, so soon as the 
Mayor understood, he immediately called a Hall, and 
there it was ordered that the Mayor, Aldermen, and 
the Recorder, in their scarlet gowns, and the best of 
the inhabitants, should attend at the gates to receive 
his Majesty with the most profound loyalty, humility, 
and respect ; that rails be made for forty persons to 
stand in at Beverley Gate Head, and a foot pace to 
kneel upon, and the place or station for the Mayor and 
Aldermen to be somewhat higher than the rest, and to 
have some rich carpet before them upon the rail, and 
the Mayor should make his most hearty and loyal 
obedience to the King, and deliver to his Majesty the 
keys of the town, together with a ribbon and a purse 
with one hundred pieces of gold in it ; that the Re- 
corder do prepare and make a speech unto his Majesty, 
and welcome him to the town in the name of the 
Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses ; and that as soon as 
it is ended, the Mayor shall have the great mace de- 




Sir Jn° Lister. Knight. 



Twice Mayor and Burgess inParliament 6rr Mngsten-u/kmBu/J, 

Obit Bee. 23. J640. 



HULLIXIA. 69 

livered unto him, which having kissed it, shall deliver 
the same to his Majesty's hands, and receiving it again, 
he shall march before the King with the same upon his 
back or shoulder unto the lodgings." 

The following is a portion of the famous, fulsome 
address presented by the Recorder on that occasion at 
Beverley Gate ; Mr. Thorpe after making profound 
obeisance to his Majesty spoke as follows : — 

" Most Gracious Sovereign. ! 

" If the approaches to the thrones of heaven and earth had been 
11 by the same way of access, we had done. Since learned by our daily 
" prayers unto the ' King of Kings,' to speak as might become us, unto 
" your sacred Majesty, whom God has now blessed and honoured us 
" with the presence of. But since these are different, and we not so 
" much conversant in the latter as in the former, we most heartily crave 
" your sacred pardon and grace for our rudeness, which is or may be 
" committed, opining, your Majesty, that they proceeded from nothing 
" but want of knowledge and skill how to receive and to express our- 
u selves upon the happy reception of so much glory. 

"Our full hearts make us almost unable to undergo what we 
" most thankfully undertake, and would stop all passages of speech and 
" make U3 dumb with the awful majesty that happy we, behold and 
" adore. 

"This town was always faithful and true, in respect of the 
" zealous and loyal affections of the people of the same, to your Majesty's 
" honour and service. It may be said, as it is of the city of Seville in 
" Spain, 'not only to be walled, but also to be garrisoned by fire,' not 
" dead nor asleep, nor absconded in senseless flints, but continually 
" vivacious, waking, ardent, apparent, and sensible in their courageous 
" and boiling heat for your Majesty's long life, welfare and happiness. 
u So that the town is not only yours by name, but also by nature — so 
" shall it ever remain to be. 

"Your Majesty hath not only here a magazine of all military 
" provisions of your own loyal collecting, ordering and appointment, 
" out also a richer store, a more noble and safe prize, even a magazine 
" of faithful and true hearts all the whole town over, which renders it 
" stronger for your Majesty's service, than if it had walls of brass or 
" iron. 

" Your Majesty's most noble predecessors built, encouraged, and 
" honoured it. The pious and good King Edward YL committed the 
" castle and block-houses of it to the perpetual keeping of the corpora- 
" tion. May your Majesty live for ever and ever, and may all the thorns 
" in your travels grow up into crowns ; may your battles be always 
" crowned with laurels, and may good success always attend your actions 
" and desires ; may your years be added unto your days, and length of 
" time, till time shall be no more." 

[The Recorder subsequently became a judge and 
the King's greatest enemy. J 

This grandiloquent speech being ended, his 
Majesty thanked them, — " protesting that as it was 



70 HULLINIA. 

his duty and daily study, so he would wholly spend 
his life for the good of his people, and make it his 
utmost endeavour to preserve both the church as by 
law established, and the State from popery, destruction 
and ruin." 

The Mayor, Sir John Lister, then fell on his knees 
and, having kissed the mace, thus addressed his 
Majesty : — " Most high and mighty prince, I and my 
brethren do most heartily welcome your Majesty to 
your highness's royal town of Hull, and in token of 
our duty and respect, I deliver to your Majesty this 
emblem of royal authority and power, with the utmost 
humility, loyalty and confidence." Charles then took 
the mace in his hand and returned it immediately, say- 
ing, " Freely I return to you and your successors, and 
the whole town for ever, all the authorities and powers, 
privileges and charters, expressed and understood by 
this royal emblem ; use them to my honour and your 
own good, and then you will be happy." 

After the reading of this address of welcome 
by Recorder Thorpe, and the King having been pre- 
sented with a ribbon, which he tied in a knot on his hat, 
calling it his " Hull Favour," Sir John led the way to 
his house in the High-Street, where he entertained his 
Majesty that night amidst the joyful sounds of the 
church bells. 

Subsequently this same King Charles laid siege 
to Hull. He was refused admittance by the Governor, 
Sir John Hotham. This occurred on April the 23rd. 
The siege commenced on the 3rd of July — cannons 
thundering continually from the walls upon the royalists, 
and from their batteries in return upon the town. The 
siege was raised on the nth day of October, 1643, 
which day was afterwards kept a holiday. The num- 
ber slain during the struggle must have been great; for 
t on the 10th of October of the same year, complaints 
were made to the Mayor and Aldermen by the church- 
wardens of Holy Trinity Church, that the yard thereof 



HULLINIA. 71 

was so full of dead bodies, that there was no room left 
to bury more, and further desired that leave might be 
given to treat for a garden in Trinity- House- Lane to 
bury the dead therein. Thus in this small graveyard, 
in the centre of this populous town, there are historic 
associations that carry us back over two centuries, and 
to the time when the people of Hull were the first to 
fight for religious and constitutional freedom. 

It was Sir John Lister, who, at his own expense, 
built the wall at the north side of the High Church, 
from the Chancel down to the Market-Place. He also 
erected an hospital for six men and six* women, like- 
wise a readers house adjoining, and endowed it with 
lands to the value of ^600 a year. He was elected 
Member of Parliament in 1640, but died before taking 
his seat. 

Another illustrious name may be seen at the west 
end of the church. In the south Aisle is the grave of 
Robert Nettleton, whose epitaph states that he was 
" Alderman and sometime Mayor of this town, and 
interred May 8th, 1706. He had 13 children by Lydia 
his wife, 7 of whom were buried in his grave. She 
was daughter of Mr. James Blaydes, and Anne his 
wife, daughter to the Rev. Andrew Marvel, and sister 
to Andrew Marvel, Esq., who about 20 years served 
this town as Member of Parliament." Alderman Robt. 
Nettleton, was the first Governor of the Poor of the 
Hull Incorporation. 

About the year 1698, the magistrates were em- 
powered to erect Houses of Correction, for idle persons, 
as well as places for honest poor people to employ 
themselves, if of strength and ability; and in 1699, Sir 
W. St. Quintin, Bart, and Charles Osborne, Esq., 
Members of Parliament for the borough, obtained an 
Act for promoting English manufactures, to incorporate 
and appoint trustees to take care of the children who 
formerly worked in the open Market- Place, to which 
end the ancient Cloth Hall — now the Branch Bank 



72 IIULLINIA. 

of England, in Whitefriargate — was granted, under the 
town seal. In the year 1702, I find on looking over 
the old minute book of the Workhouse, the following 
copy of a codicil written on the back of his will, " that 
I give to the incorporation for the poor £5 a-year, to 
be paid them out of my house and staith situated in 
the High-Street, desiring from time to time, that my 
nearest relation, may be at the first vacancy, after he 
shall be 24 years old, if said corporation so please, 
chosen as a guardian of said corporation, desiring him 
and all to be very careful to promote the interest 
thereof being the best of charity." On further search 
into the records, I find his son being desirous of resid- 
ing in London and not having the same taste as his 
good father, disputed with the guardians the legality of 
the claim and subsequently settled with them by pay- 
ing the sum of £z°- 

In the middle Aisle of the Nave, rest the remains 
of Alderman George Crowle and his wife Eleanor, who 
was the daughter of Roger Kirby, by a daughter of 
Sir John Lowther, Bart. A blue marble slab indicates 
the spot, but the inscription is nearly obliterated. At 
one time it had inlaid his coat of arms in brass- — 
which has been removed — also the words, " Mayor in 
1661 and 1679, died, 1682/' His wife died in 1689. 
He founded an hospital in Sewer-Lane. This hospital 
contains 12 rooms, and is occupied by 12 poor women, 
who each receive 2s. 6d. a week, with an allowance of 
coals and turfs. In 182 1, the sum of ^100 was given 
by Mr. Daniel Wilson, the representative of the Crowle 
family, in order that the interest thereof might be paid 
equally at Christmas among the poor people of the 
hospital. Mr. Alderman Lambert (Messrs. Lambert, 
Wine Merchants), and Mr. R. L. Cook, Merchant, are 
maternal descendants of the family ; the latter gentle- 
man possesses a splendid life-size portrait, in oil, of this 
apostle of benevolence, habited in his mayoral robes of 
office, (annexed is a copy of the original) which I hope 



\ 




Alderman Geo. Crowle. 



(From an original Portrait in tke possession if ffl Cool{.Es<p.j 



HULLINIA. 73 

to see some day located in the Town Hall, beside the 
few worthies placed therein. 

In the churchyard there was a headstone to a 
Captain Wm. Frugill, who died the 21st day of April, 
1656. A. sword is carved on the stone with these 
lines : — 

" What, sir, they say, 'tis sure, true men of war, 
Of valour, art, and faith, composed are. 
If Indian, German, English wars yield fame — 
Read then a man of war in Frugill's name." 

In the south-west corner of the graveyard, on the 
ground scheduled for widening South Church-Side, as 
agreed upon, is a gravestone to the memory of William 
Robinson, sometime Sheriff of this town, died October 
8, 1 708. On a portion of the flat stone are the follow- 
ing words : — " As a mark of grateful respect to the 
worthy donor of an Hospital to the Trinity House, the 
Warden and members have caused this vault to be 
repaired, June 4th, 1807." 

This worthy man also bequeathed 12 loaves of 
bread at is., to as many widows, on Christmas day, 
with the strict injunction that they are delivered to the 
recipients at the side of his grave. I am informed that 
it used to be a somewhat amusing scene to see the old 
women, when we have had severe winters, wading up 
to their knees in snow, in order to receive their dole. 

The meaning of doles, St. Chrysostom says, was 
to procure rest to the soul of the deceased, that he 
might find his judge propitious. 

Mr. Lysons in his " Environs of London," speak- 
ing of some lands said to have been given by two 
maiden ladies to the Parish of Paddington, for the 
purpose of distributing bread, cheese, and beer among 
the inhabitants, on the Sunday before Christmas day, 
tells us that they are now let at £2 1 per annum, and, 
that " the bread was formerly thrown from the church 
steeple to be scrambled for, and part of it is still dis- 
tributed in that way." 



74 HULLINIA.. 

Whilst alluding to the above curious ceremony, per- 
haps it will not be thought out of place to mention 
another ancient custom — that of preaching funeral 
sermons, which is of great antiquity, and used to be 
very general in England. I am not aware of any place 
Avhere it is at present retained excepting Newgate. It 
is still a custom for the Ordinary to preach a funeral 
sermon before each execution. Gough, in the second 
volume of his " Sepulchral Monuments " says, " From 
funeral orations over christian martyrs have followed 
funeral sermons for eminent christians of all denomi- 
nations, whether founded in esteem, or sanctioned by 
fashion, or secured by reward." 

After the Reformation, texts were left to be 
preached from, and sometimes money to pay for such 
preaching. We read that an infamous character named 
Madam Cress well, had her funeral sermon. She desired 
by will to have an oration delivered at her funeral, for 
which the preacher was to have £\o\ but, upon this 
express condition, that he was to say nothing but what 
was well of her. A minister was with some difficulty 
found, who undertook the task. After a lengthened 
discourse on the general subject of mortality, and the 
good uses to be made of it, he concluded by saying : — 
" by the will of the deceased, it is expected that I 
should mention her, and say nothing but what was well 
of her ; all that I shall say of her, therefore, is this — 
she was born well, she lived well, and she died well ; 
for she was born with the name of Cress- ivell, she lived 
in Clerken-?e^//, and she died in Bride-ew//." 

The author of the Philosophical survey of the 
South of Ireland says, p. 207 : — " It was formerly usual 
to have a bard to write the elegy of the deceased, which 
contained an enumeration of his good qualities, his 
genealogy, his riches, etc.," the burden being — 

<: 0! why did lie die?" 

Black, used for mourning garments, dates from 
the earliest antiquity. In the " Supplement to the 



IIULLIXIA. 75 

Athenian Oracle," p. 301, it is stated, that " Black is 
the fittest emblem of that sorrow and grief, the mind is 
supposed to be clouded with ; and, as death is the pri- 
vation of life, and black a privation of light, 'tis very 
probable this colour has been chosen to denote sadness 
upon that account ; and accordingly this colour has, for 
mourning, been preferred by most people throughout 
Europe. The Syrians, Cappadocians, and Armenians, 
use sky colour, to denote the place they wish the dead 
to be in, i.e., the heavens ; the Egyptians, yellow, to 
show that, as herbs being faded become yellow, so 
death is the end of human hope ; and the Ethiopians, 
grey, because it resembles the colour of the earth, which 
receives the dead." 

I much regret that space will not permit my giving 
in full, more copies of the epitaphs of men — illustrious 
sons of Hull — lying in and about the venerable fabric 
of Holy Trinity, especially as I intend to notice some 
memorials of the sister Church of St. Mary ; there- 
fore, I must summarise the other worthies, Avhose dust 
lies mouldering here. 

In the Choir is a remarkable stone figure of a lady, 
with her hands clasped in prayer, which was discovered 
a few years ago by some workmen, who were about to 
erect a mural monument. It was in a shrine built up 
in the south wall of the Transept, and on the east side 
of the door, at the back of which, was a three-light 
window, now restored. The figure is at present in the 
beautiful Broadley Chapel. 

In the centre of the floor of this chantry chapel, a 
diamond-shaped brass tablet has been inserted, the in- 
scription on which sets forth, that " in the vault beneath 
are interred the remains of Elizabeth Broadley, who 
died in 1798, aged 58; Charlotte Broadley, who died 
in 1807, aged 52 ; Robert Carlisle Broadley, Esq., of 
Ferriby, w r ho died in 18 12, aged 74 years; the Rev. 
Thomas Broadley, M.A., of Ferriby, who died in 1851, 
aged 57." 



76 HULLINIA. 

On the north side of the Transept is an elaborate 
marble mural monument, to the memory of Mark 
Kirby and his wife Jane. The former died in 1718, 
the latter, 1686. The same tablet also contains the 
names of all their family, including Mary, wife of 
Richard Sykes ; their eldest son Richard ; their second 
son Christopher ; their third son Mark, &c. 

On the w T alls of the Choir and Transept are 
a variety of monuments, to the Rev. Nicholas Ander- 
son, twenty-seven years Vicar of Holy Trinity; Sir 
Geo. Baker, Kt., who died in 1667. A beautiful basso 
relievo monument to the Rev. J. Milner, M.A., (origin- 
ally a weaver) Author of " The Church of Christ," 
Master of the Grammar School for upwards of thirty 
years, and Vicar of Holy Trinity, who died in 1797, 
aged 53 ; several members of the Maister and Broadley 
families ; several ancient merchants, as Hollingworth, 
Somerscales, Stubbs, Sandwith, Shipman, Harrison, 
Skinner, Gleadow, Porter, Smyth, &c. ; a modern 
marble monument, (by Earle) presented by the Cor- 
poration of Trinity House in memory of their bene- 
factor, Alderman Ferries. Thomas Ferries is said to 
be a native of Egton-in-Danby, in the north of York- 
shire. By his will he left an annuity for the Minister 
of Gladesdale Chapel, in the Parish of Danby, and for 
the repairs of that chapel ; and a small annuity to the 
church-wardens of Danby Parish. There is a tradition 
in the neighbourhood of Danby, that Ferries in his 
early life was crossing the River Esk, by stepping- 
stones, he fell in and was nearly drowned ; that he 
made a vow, that if ever he was able he would build 
a bridge there. He was then a poor lad. 

In a guide book to the district, it appears that 
Ferries carried out his pledge, for there is at the 
present time, a bridge with one arch, and is generally 
known as the " Beggar's Bridge/' and bears the initials 
of Ferries, and the date 162 1. This grand benefactor 
was born about the year 1 568 ; was apprenticed to a 



HULLINIA. 77 

Mr. Thos. Humphrey, of Hull, shipowner, and in his 
will he records his gratitude for the blessings received 
since his coming to this port. He became master of a 
coasting vessel, and continued at sea about 18 years. 
In 1603, he w r as admitted a younger Brother of the 
Trinity House. In 16 12, he erected a wall round the 
western portion of Holy Trinity Church, which had 
previously been open. In 1613, Ferries was made an 
Assistant of the Trinity House. In 16 14, he was 
Sheriff of Hull ; three years afterwards he became an 
Elder Brother, and was elected Warden of the Trinity 
House; and in 1620, filled the office of Mayor of 
Hull. It was whilst he was Mayor, that Ferries gave 
to the Trinity House, in aid of the charities connected 
with it, the estate called the " Whitefriars," then of the 
value of ^"50 per annum; at the present time it is worth 
upwards of ^4,700. Miss Popple, of Welton, is closely 
connected to the late Alderman Ferries, the successful 
sailor, who provided a " harbour of refuge/' for worn- 
out seamen of his adopted town. 

There is likewise a beautiful marble memorial (by 
Behnes) to Dr. Alderson ; one to J. C. Parker, Esq., 
J. P. ; one (by Earle) to the Gray family; one to the 
Appleyard family; a bust (by Key worth) of W. Woolley, 
Clerk of the Peace, and several others. At the north 
end of the Transept is a stone coffin dug up in 1835. 
It had no lid. Within the communion rails is a se- 
pulchral slab to Mason the Poet's mother, who died in 
1 727; also one to Alderman Skinner, who died in 1680; 
and Edward Richardson, once Mayor of Hull. Several 
of the stones in the floor of the church have large em- 
blazoned coats of arms, and some have had brasses 
inserted. Amongst the slabs in the floor of the Choir, 
are those of Alderman Bylt ; J. Smyth, grandson of 
Admiral Sir Jeremiah Smyth ; John Skinner, merchant; 
Samuel Saltonstall, Esq., who died in 16 12 ; Sir John 
Lister, the elder, twice Mayor of Hull, who died in 
1612 ; the Revd. Joseph Milner ; Thomas Dalton, 



78 HULLINIA. 

thrice Mayor of Hull, " merchant of the staple and ad- 
venturer," who died in 1590 ; Francis Dewick, Mayor 
of Hull, merchant adventurer, who died in 1663 ! 
Richard Wood, " woollen draper, some time Mayor of 
this town," who died in 1662; " the worshipful John 
Forcett, grocer, who departed this life on the 30th of 
February, 1685, in the 64th year of his age, he being 
then Mayor of this corporation ; " William Ramsden, 
sometime Deputy to the Right Worshipful Company 
of Merchant Adventurers of England, Alderman, and 
twice Mayor of Hull, and Member of Parliament for 
the borough, who died in 1680 ; John Ramsden, twice 
Mayor of Hull, who died in 1637, alluded to elsewhere ; 
William Foxley, twice Mayor of Hull, died in 1680; 
Richard Hargrave, died in 1762 ; and numerous others. 
In the floor of the Transept are grave stones, which 
have been removed from the south side of the church- 
yard, inscribed to Wm. Crowle, son of Alderman 
George Crowle, who died in 1750; Anthony Mason, 
Mayor of Hull, died 1697 ; Thomas Johnston, mer- 
chant, twice Mayor of Hull, died in 1700 ; Mark Kirby, 
merchant, died 1718, and other members of that once 
important and flourishing family. Amongst the modern 
epitaphs are those to members of the family of Peck. 
I may here mention, that in the south-west corner 
of the Transept, is a splendid three-light window, 
in stained glass, in memory of Thomas and Hannah 
Peck, 1870. It represents the Saviour on the Mount, 
of beatitudes ; raising Jarius's daughter; and, on the 
third compartment, healing the man with the palsy. 

There are tablets also, to the memory of the 
families of Keightley, Shaw, Dean, Champney, Kirk, 
Constable, Young and Marshall. Amongst those on 
the walls of the Aisles of the Nave, many of which 
have been re-arranged, are those of Dr. Chambers, his- 
torian, died in 1785, aged 80 years, " after 60 years 
extensive and disinterested practice ; M Alderman Rd. 
Gray, merchant, twice Mayor of Hull, died in 1727, in 



HULLINIA. 79 

his 96th year ; Christopher Chapman, foreman mason, 
died in 16 15 ; Alderman John Field, merchant, Mayor 
of Hull, died 1689 ; Joseph Ellis, Mayor of Hull, died 
1683 ; " the worshipful Humphrey Duncalf, alderman, 
Mayor of this incorporation, anno dom. 1668, woollen 
draper/' died in 1683 ; xAdderman William Popple, died 
in 1691 ; Major John Sheddon, died in 1840; Thomas 
Earle, merchant, died in 1834; Revd. Wm, Wilson, 
Master of the Grammar School, died in 1836 ; William 
Stubbs, died in 1840, &c, &c. In the floor at the 
west end, near the font, is a slab inscribed to John 
Baker, pewterer, who died in 1 710, in his 78th year. 
This is supposed to be the tomb stone of that famous 
personage who figured so conspicuously during the 
great rebellion and known by the soubriquet of the 
"protestant tinker." In the floor of the Nave are 
several stones inscribed to members of the* families of 
Hadley, Earle, Vause, Mason, Perrott, Webster, 
Lazenby, Melling, Hutchinson, Walker, Kennedy, 
Green, Maister, Prickett, Raikes, &£., &c. And, lastly, 
here lies interred Wm. de la Pole, ancestor of that 
family that rose from knights to baronets, " barons, 
earls, dukes, princes, even to the foot of the throne." 
He was originally a High-Street merchant, and enter- 
tained Edward III., in 1332, on his way to the north, 
when that monarch knighted him in consideration of 
the magnificent reception he had met with. Subse- 
quently a strong attachment sprung up between them, 
particularly through pecuniary services rendered by 
Sir William, who in time became first gentleman of 
the bedchamber, Lord of Holderness, and Baron of the 
Exchequer. Before his demise, he founded a " mon- 
astery and an hospital," known as the Charter House, 
which was completed by his son Sir Michael de la 
Pole. 

The only ancient bust in the church is that of 
the Rev. Thomas Whincup, mentioned in Gee's will. 
It is on the south side of the Choir. The inscription 



8o HULLINIA. 

is in Latin, and nearly obliterated. The English 
translation runs thus : — 

" Stop traveller, whoever thou art, and look upon him, now dead, 
" who, when alive, it was niOvst useful for thee to imitate. Mr. Thomas 
" Whine up : an eminent example cf great learning, sound judgment, 
" probity of life, indefatigable industry, charity, humanity, and piety, a 
" faithful servant of God, an excellent divine, and one that worthily 
" merited the love and remembrance of all good men ; who, after he had 
" served the Most High, above the space of 76 years, diligently executing 
" the offices of an honest man, a prudent citizen., and a vigilant pastor, 
" at last being fall of years and honour, he resigned his soul to the 
" Almighty, waiting for the resurrection of the body ; who, tho' now 
" dead, yet liveth. All that remains. So, reader ! as God's glory is 
" now his reward, so be his example thine." 

Mr. Whincup was Master of the Charter House, 
and Vicar of Hull 25 years. 

Before proceeding to the Low Church, so called, 
I shall insert a copy of the will of that famous mer- 
chant, William Gee, who flourished in the reign of 
Queen Elizabeth, and was Mayor in 1573, it being so 
very remarkable and interesting. This is the substance 
of it : — 

" WHEREAS, in the Scriptures, the great God has willed, by the Trophet, 
" to say to Hezekiah, to make his will and put things in order, for that 
"he must die, so I do now pray, and humbly beseech the great God, to 
" confound and destroy all those men, lawyers, and others whosoever, 
"to the Devil, in the Pit of Hell, which do, or shall do, or take upon 
" them to alter this my will. Amen. Good Lord, Amen ! I bequeath 
" for paying tythes forgotten, 20s.; to my son William Gee, £2,000; 
"my son Walter, £200; to 12 poor men and as many women at my 
"burial 10 pounds, to each of these one shilling, a piece of bread, cheese 
"and drink, also a mourning gown; to my executors £150, to be be- 
" stowed on lands, for the which shall be yearly given, to the poor people 
"in Hull for ever, £6 13s. 4d., at the time and day of the year that I 
" depart forth of this mortal world, for which they shall give thanks 
" and honour to God, the must holy and blessed Lord, that openeth the 
"heart of man to give some of his riches to the needy souls remaining 
" in the world ; for which I praise His great goodness that sent it to me, 
"and give most hearty thanks, glory and praise, with my very heart 
" and soul ; os. a-picce to all my god-sons and god-daughters ; £2 13s. 4d. 
"to my neighbours of the same street to be cheerful with, and give 
"thanks to my good God ; £600 to Trinity Church, to be put out at 5 
" per cent, £4 yearly of the same to be expended on the said church, and 
"the rest on St. Mary's; to the town's chamber £20; to them more 
" £160, the interest of which Mr. Mayor and his brethren shall yearly 
"lay out for corn, for the poor people, and if they do not, nor will do 
"the same, that then tho City of Yoik have the money and do it for 
"their poor. I bequeath and give to the town's chambor the waison 
" JJieu, and house that I built in Chapel- Lane, for the poor, by God'a 
11 permission, with the four tenements adjoining and two houses more in 



jlnno Ifomim 1548. 
.JZtatis-Si/e i'S 




Alderman Gee, 



(from a Painting on Wood in the possession of the If ull 
Grammar School Committee] 



HULLINIA. Si 

" the same lane, that 10 poor old single women dwell in the said house, 
" and that they and their successors have 4d. a- week paid them ; like- 
" wise I give and bequeath to the School of Hull, erected by me, the 
" Grammar School, two houses in the butchery, for ever."' 

All which premises his son William Gee, of Bishop 
Burton,, and Mary his spouse did by deed confirm, 
settle, and convey to Joshua Field, Anthony Cole, John 
Lister, Marmaduke Haddlesey, Thomas Thackray, the 
Rev. Thos. Whincup, and Thomas Fowberry, school- 
master, their heirs and assigns for ever. 

During some religious disturbances in Hull at the 
time of the Reformation, in 1575, the great east window 
overlooking the Market-Place was seriously damaged 
by the mob. They demolished the beautiful stained 
glass, and it all fell to the ground. This window con- 
tained historical scenes from the Bible. Aid. Gee, 
during his mayoralty, rebuilt it at his own expense. 
He was indeed a grand old merchant, philanthropist, 
and benefactor. A half life-size portrait of him is in 
the Grammar School. He appears habited in the 
quaint costume of the period. 

The old records of the time state that Bishop 
Alcock was the first founder of the Grammar School. 
All his ancestors were sheriffs and mayors, and famous 
merchants of Hull. The School was founded upon his 
own lands, in i486, that had descended to him from 
his grandfather, it being a great garden which he had 
bought of John Grimsby, merchant, in 1432. It was 
the custom in those davs to build their chantries, or 
chapels, and schools and such like, in the town where 
they were born. In 1484, he " founded and built a 
little chappel upon the south side of St. Trinity Church, 
in Hull, joining upon the great porch, and dedicated 
it to the Holy Trinity, erecting two altars therein, the 
one to Christ, and the other to St. John the Evangelist, 
and therein and thereat, fixed a perpetual chanter or 
chantier to chant psalms and prayers, every da)', for 
the souls of King Edward V., his own parents, and 

F 



82 HULLINIA. 

for all christian souls, which he endowed with ^14 
6s. 4<i. a year, issuing out of houses and lands in Hull, 
Keilby and Bigby. About 14 years after this, awhile 
before his death, at the earnest request of Alderman 
Dal ton — who married one of his sisters — he founded 
a great free school, in the sayd town, and endowed it 
with ^20 a year, out of which, the master was bound 
to pay 40s. a year to the clerk of Trinity Church, to 
teach boys to sing ; and to give yearly, to ten of the 
best scholars in the school, 6s. 8d. a piece, if the re- 
venues and other exigencies would allow of the same ; 
and all children coming to the sayd school, were to be 
taught gratis. All which charities were ruined and lost 
in Edward VTs days, and the school and school- 
house pulled down and sold." 

In the south corner of the Nave is interred Joseph 
Chapman, who died October 14, 1017, aged 67 years. 
This benevolent individual left sums of money amount- 
ing to upwards of ,£8,000, the interest of which is 
annually expended for various charitable purposes ; 
amongst others, the weekly distribution of bread to 
poor persons, immediately after the morning service ; 
likewise a presentation of 19 guineas to 19 widows on 
Christmas clay, in each year. 

After a long and tedious search, I think I have 
discovered the resting place of Alderman William 
Coggan, Coggin, or Cogan, merchant, who founded the 
girls' School in Salthouse-Lane, and was Mayor of 
Hull in 1 71 7, and 1736. I had long entertained the 
belief, that, when a boy, I had read the name on the top 
flagstone of a brick vault in Holy Trinity churchyard, 
on the south side, near the Market- Place, and in close 
proximity to the chantries ; but no one could corrobo- 
rate or confirm my long cherished idea. However, on 
inspecting a plan of tombs and graves, prepared by the 
late Mr. J no. Barton, vestry Clerk of the Church of 
Holy Trinity, with copies of all the legible inscriptions 
in the churchyard, taken in December, i860, or February 




Alderman Cogan, 



(From the original painted on Glass in the possession 
of the Hull Chantj Commus toners.) 



HULLINIA. 83 

1 86 1, and preserved with the other Parish Registers, 
I found it recorded that this vault was opened and 
removed. There were three coffins found within (de- 
cayed) with inscriptions, and on one the following 
words : — " Mary his wife, sister to Samuel Watson, 
who died in January 1775, aged 65 years. This tomb 
renewed in 181 2, by Sir Henry Etherington, Bart., 
John Sykes, Esq., and Joseph Eggington, Esq., 
Alderman and Trustee to the will of the above named 
Alderman Cogan." Consequently, this seems con- 
clusive evidence that the vault was cleared away with 
others in 1862. It seems very strange that there is no 
monument or tablet, to point to passers by, that once 
here laid the benefactor, William Cogan ! Verily, there 
is much force in the words of the poet, when he ex- 
claimed that u we praise the gift, but let the gifted die." 

I understand that the will of this gentleman [ s 
read once a year in St. Mary's Church, publicly, there- 
fore it is unnecessary to repeat it here. 

On the same portion of ground was a flat stone, 
on which was inscribed " Here lieth the body of Mrs. 
Ann Wood, who died April 24th, 1756, aged 84 years. 
Also, the body of the worshipful John Wood, Alder- 
man, twice Mayor of this Corporation, who departed 
this life June 25th ; " age and year effaced. 

On the north side of the graveyard was a vault to 
the memory of Thos. Smith Meggitt, painter, who died 
19th November, I842, and the following verse : — 

" For social intercourse was kindly prized, 
His temper, like his colours, harmonized ; 
In decorative art he greatly shone, 
Whilst modest merit held him for her own." 

Near to this was a headstone inscribed, " Sacred 
to the memory of William Atkin, master mariner of 
this port, who died suddenly, Oct. 12th, 1816, aged 35 
years ; " also the following lines : — 

" Stop passengers and read my stone, 
Consider how soon I was gone ; 
Death does not always warning give — 
Therefore, be careful how you live." 



$4 11ULLLMA. 

In the immediate neighbourhood was a vault, with 
the following inscription : — l * Here lies deposited the 
body of Mary Stainton, the wife of Robert Stainton, 
Esq., storekeeper of the Ordnance at this Garrison, who 
died on Monday, 8th December, 18 17, aged 74 years, 
who had lain nine days preceding her death In a state 
of apoplexy, without sensation, motion, sustenance or 
pain, apparently dead ; a gentle pulse and respiration 
only continued; the body w r as interred on Saturday 
13th, following. Reader, be ye ever mindful of death ; 
life is even a vapour which shineth a little time, then 
vanisheth, and is succeeded by eternity. Also, here is 
deposited the body of the said Robert Stainton, Esq., 
who departed this life, the 19th clay of April, 1824, 
aged 86." 

Lower down, nearer to Trinity House- Lane, is a 
headstone, " Sacred to the memory of Richmond 
Tomlinson, w T ho w T as killed by the explosion of the 
Union Steam Packet, June 7th, 1837, aged 53 years. 

Alas ! it grieves the human heart 

Much more than words can tell, 
When those we love are called away, 

Ere they can Lid fare well." 

Near to the above was a gravestone with the 
following words, kk In memory of Francis Stott, who 
died 1 8th January, 1809, aged 66 years. 

Remember me as you pass by, 
As you are now, so once was 3 , 
As I am now, so you must be — 
Therefore prepare to follow me." 

There was a large brick vault in the north-western 
portion of the churchyard, containing the family of the 
Horncastles. In it is laid William Horncastle, elder 
brother, and five times warden of the Trinity House 
of this port, who died September 15th 1827, aged 76 
years. 

At the west end of the graveyard is an epitaph on 
a headstone, " In memory of Thomas Simpson, of this 
town, master mariner, who departed this lite, the 8th 
December, 1807, '^d 54 years/' and the following 
curious lines : - 



HULLINIA. 85 



" Tho' Boreas' blasts and Neptune' s waves 
Have tossed me to and fro, 
Yet by God's decree, 
I harbour here below — 
Where I do safe at anchor ride, 
With many of our fleet ; 
Yet once again I must set sail, 
My Admiral Christ to meet." 

Not far from this is a headstone, having inscribed 
thereon " In memory of George Pearson, who died 
March 10th, 1842, aged 65 years," and the following 
admonition : — 

" What faults you've seen in me, strive to avoid — 
Search your own hearts, and you'll be well employed." 

There are also brick vaults containing the family 
of the Cooks ; one belonging to the Kirk family ; 
another to the Metcalfs ; another to the Martin family, 
shipowners ; and in another is laid the Hon. Francis 
Thistieton Thompson, brother to the Right Hon. Lord 
Save and Sele, who married Elizabeth, the daughter of 
Joseph Thompson, Esq., who departed this life the 4th 
January, 1793, aged 56 years; also the Hon. Eliza- 
beth Thistieton Thompson, wife of the Hon. Francis 
Thistieton Thompson, who died February 18th, 1862. 

Near to the above is a vault to the Blanchard 
family; and close to the door, at the western entrance to 
the church, in a vault, are deposited the remains of 
Ellen, daughter of William Chambers, M.D., who died 
November 16th, 1819, aged 68 years ; also the body of 
William Bell, who departed this life on the 4th of 
November, 1826, aged 26 years — 

" Look, look on this stone — 

Young, gay, and careless — altered to this, 

And boast not thyself of to-morrow." 

On the south side of the church, was a vault con- 
taining the remains of Frances Susannah, wife of John 
Booth, Esq., who departed this life 13th May, 1 771, 
aged 58 years ; Ann, the wife of Benjamin Haworth ; 
John Booth, Esq. ; and Benjamin Haworth and John 
Booth Haworth, 



86 HULLINIA, 

Another close by contains the remains of Caius 
Thompson, who departed this life Feb. 28th, 1774, 
aged 41 years; Ann Thompson, relict of the above; 
Deborah, daughter of same, and of Caius, son of Caius 
and Ann Thompson, who died September 3rd, 1840, 
in his 71st year. 

Near the Vicar's Porch, in a vault rest the remains 
of John Pickard, white lead manufacturer, who died the 
1 6th clay of October, 1801, aged 79 years ; John Kirkly 
Pickard, Barrister-at-Law, and Deputy Judge of the 
Court of Record of this borough, who died on the 
24th day of April, 1839, aged 71 years; and John 
Kirkly Pickard, who died on the 5th clay of July 1843, 
aged J j years, &c. 

I must now bring my notices of epitaphs in and 
about Holy Trinity Church to a close. To quote all 
the names of the illustrious dead, would fill a volume 
larger than the space alloted in this work ; but perhaps 
I am only the pioneer, preparing the way for some 
future historian to complete the task I have undertaken 
with pleasure, but attended with considerable difficulty 
on account of my numerous public engagements, and 
the exactions of my business avocations. 

In taking leave of Holy Trinity and its ancient 
graveyard, I may be found fault with for dwelling so 
long on what will be considered by some persons, 
a gloomy subject ; but, I would ask, who does not feel 
a sorrowful comfort come over his mind, as he stands 
reading the names chronicled on tombstones, and re- 
ceives the solemn warnings and teachings of the cities 
of the dead ? In the words of an eminent old writer: — 
"All that nature has prescribed must be good; and 
as death is natural to us, it is absurdity to fear it. 
Fear loses its purpose when we are sure it cannot pre- 
serve us, and we should draw resolution to meet it, 
from the impossibility to escape it." 

" And bo io livo, that when the sun 
Of < ur existence sinks in night, 



HULLIXIA. Sy 

Memorials sweet ©f mercies done 
May shrine our names in memory's light ; 
And the blest seeds we scattered, bloom 
A hundred fold in days to come." 

We will now proceed to notice some of the 
historical names to be found in the Church and grave- 
yard of 

ST. MARY. 

" Low Church," is so called from being situated in Low 
Marketgate, as Holy Trinity is called tl High Church," 
from being in — what was formerly termed — the High 
Marketgate. 

For the earliest notice of this ancient edifice, we 
are indebted to the will of William Skayl, in 1327, 
which contains the following words — " Capella tie Virg 
Marie!' It is thought that it was either built or en- 
larged at that time, as it is described in a license 
granted by Archbishop Melton to the Prior and 
Brethren of North Ferriby on the 3rd December, 
1333, as being newly built ("de novo constructa") The 
object of the license was to sanction the performance 
of Divine worship in the chapel, and the rites of sepul- 
ture in the chapel and chapel-yard, on account of its 
distance from the mother church, of North Ferriby, to 
which it belonged. The Chapel of St. Mary was 
originally built merely for the use of the parishioners 
of North Ferriby, who occasionally resided in Hull. 
When or how it became separated from the mother 
church, none as yet have been able to say. The first 
time it is mentioned as the distinct parish of St. Mary, 
is in the Act of Resumption of 7th and 8th Edward 
IV., wherein a house formerly belonging to the Earl of 
Northumberland, is described as "an house in Kynges- 
ton-upon-Hull, in the parish of our Ladye." In Hollar's 
plan of Hull, the Church of St. Mary is scarcely dis- 
cernible, for want of its tower, which is said by Tickell 
to have been thrown down by Henry VIII., on his 
visit to Hull, because it intercepted his prospect from 



88 HULLINIA. 

the Manor-house. Mr. Frost seems to think that it is 
more likely that it was removed for the purpose of ex- 
tending the court-yard or inclosure of the Manor-house 
next to the street, in anticipation of the Kings visit. 
The evident projection of the buildings in that particu- 
lar part of Lowgate where the Manor-house stood, with 
other circumstances, shews that the street was then 
thrown more to the eastward, and over the precise spot 
where the Tower had once stood. When the founda- 
tion of the present Tower was laid in 1696, there were 
discovered " vast foundations of the old church, running 
quite across the street, under the Manor walls, and the 
coffms and skeletons of many persons." (Lansd. MSS.) 
The manuscript from which this account is taken, states, 
that King Henry not 'only caused the Tower, but the 
great body of the Church of St. Mary, to be " pulled 
down to the bare ground, for the enlargement of his 
Manor, and converted all the stone and w T ood work 
thereof to the walling of the same, and to the use of 
the Block-houses that he then caused to be made on 
the Garrison or Dripole side, so that there was nothing 
of the said church left standing but the Chancel, which 
was also not saved without great entreaties/' (Id. fol. 
291.) The new Tower, according to this document was 
completed in 1697. 

The author of the MSS. also adds that " contribu- 
tions were made by myself and many others, Mr. G. D., 
collector, leaving ^50 by his will to begin it, to make 
it look like other churches." Frost says, the initials 
G. D., are those of George Dickinson, who was col- 
lector of the customs at Hull, from 1694 to 1696, when 
lie was succeeded by Hugh Mason, grandfather to the 
poet. The same year the Corporation gave £10 to- 
wards its rebuilding. It was erected at the west end of 
the church, of red brick, with stone facings. In 16 18, 
the great bell of St. Mary's was given by Aid. Thos. 
Swan. In 1727, a peal of five new bells was hung 
in the Tower, by subscription, through the exertions of 



HULLINIA. 89 

William Wilberforce, Esq., who also secured for them 
a free passage by sea from London — he being one of the 
churchwardens of St. Mary's at that time. Through 
the influence of Mr. G. Hudson, Vestry Clerk, a sixth 
bell was added, in 1843, by private subscription. The 
graveyard was closed for burials in 1849, (the cholera 
year.) In i860, the church underwent a thorough res- 
toration, both internally and externally, and was finished 
in 1863. The galleries, which blocked up the windows 
in the north and south Aisles, and the Arch in the 
Tower were removed, and a new Aisle was built on the 
south side of the church, in order to provide sittings 
in the place of those which were lost by the removal 
of the galleries. In the new south Aisle, an organ 
chamber was built, as well as a commodious vestry. 
A handsome Porch was also built to take the place of 
the old one, which had been previously pulled down. 
The Tower, which was raised about 20 feet, was faced 
with stone, and had new windows, pinnacles and doors 
made in it. In the lower story a way was cut through, 
and a groined passage made for the convenience of 
foot passengers. The whole exterior of the church 
was faced with stone, and pinnacles were added in all 
the places where they had formerly stood. 

In the interior, the whole of the church was re- 
seated w T ith open seats of oak ; a Chancel formed in the 
east end of the Nave or middle Aisle, by metal screens ; 
the roof thoroughly restored, covered with pitch pine 
and stained ; the Tower Arch opened out ; a Gallery 
built in the Tower for the school children, and the 
floor laid with red and black tiles, in various designs. 

The churchyard, which was, before the restora- 
tion, three feet above the base of the walls of the 
edifice, was levelled and surrounded by a new reel brick 
wall,- surmounted by a wrought-iron pallisade; the roads 
on the south and east of the church being widened 
for the benefit of the town by the Local Board of 
Health. 



90 HULLINIA. 

The church was re-opened by William, Lord 
Archbishop of York, and Charles Perry, Lord Bishop 
of Melbourne, on the 27th August, 1863, at which time 
and subsequently, the following gifts were made to the 
church : — a new Font of stone, by subscription ; a 
stained glass Window, of two lights, in the new Aisle, 
by Miss Elizabeth Moor, subject — " Jesus and Mary 
of Bethany ; " a carved oak Lectern, by the Children 
of the late lamented Rev. John Scott, M.A. ; a carved 
oak Sedilia, by the Rev. G. W. H. Taylor, M.A., and 
a Bishop's Chair by the late Edwin Davis, Esq., during 
his shrievalty year. At Christmas, 1867, the great 
east window was filled with stained glass, by sub- 
scription, in memory of the late Rev. John Scott. 
The east window of the south Aisle, was filled with 
stained glass by Mrs. Harbord, subject — "The Ascen- 
sion/' At the Easter Vestry in this year, the church 
was declared FREE to the parishioners. The ad- 
vowson of the living, formerly in the hands of Abel 
Smith, Esq., M.P., came into the possession of the 
family of the late Rev. John Scott, in 1864. Subse- 
quently the Ecclesiastical Commissioners declared the 
church a Vicarage. The stained glass window, of four 
lights, at the east end of the new south Aisle, was 
given by the family of the late Joseph Robinson Pease, 
Esq., together with a brass memorial tablet, recording 
the date aforesaid, &c, subjects — "St. Peter preaching," 
" St. Stephen martyred," " St. Philip baptising the 
Eunuch," " St. Paul celebrating the Eucharist at 
Troas." The stained glass window, three lights, was 
given by the family of the late Jonathan and Elizabeth 
Walker, to their memory, subject — ik The Blessed 
Virgin & Child, with the Shepherds and Magi adoring." 

The four old shields, of stained glass, were re- 
stored to their position in the east window by E. S. 
Wilson, Esq.,— (1) De la Pole and Wingfield; (2) Earl 
of Salisbury, Lord of Cotlingham, [the "bars wavy," 
have been taken from another shield, now lost, and put 



HULUNIA, 91 

into this]; (3) the Royal Crown of England, from 1405 
to 1603 ! (4) the Arms of Kingston-upon-Hull. In 
1869, the two stained glass windows, completing the 
south Aisle of the church, representing "Jesus teach- 
ing from the Ship," and " The Sermon on the Mount," 
were given by the Rev. Thomas Scott Bonnin ; the 
gift is memorialised on a brass tablet. In 1870, a 
brass Altar Desk was presented by J no. Fearne H olden, 
Esq., with the inscription — " To the Glory of God, and 
Memory of a beloved Brother, Lent 1870." The beau- 
tiful Reredos, of white Caen stone, was decorated in 
colours by Messrs. Clayton and Bell of London, the 
three centre panels being filled with a fine fresco paint- 
ing of " The Institution of the Sacrament," given by 
the family of John Egginton, Esq. In 1871, the west 
window of the new south Aisle was presented by Chas. 
Henry Wilson, Esq., Sheriff, in memory of his father, 
the late Thomas Wilson, sometime churchwarden of 
St. Mary's. The subjects are — "the Annunciation," 
"the Salutation," "the Nativity," and "the Presenta- 
tion in the Temple." The present year (1872) a small 
window has been inserted in the south Porch, in 
memory of Captain Lempriere's two little children, 
who died lately, by several of the young men and other 
members of the congregation, as a mark of sympathy 
with one from whom so many have received acts of 
kindness and words of sympathy. It represents the 
scene from St. Matthew, — " Jesus called a little child 
unto Him." The initials — P. E. L. and F. E. L.— 
are introduced, one in each light, with the inscription 
— " In memory of Everard and Francis, children of 
Percy and Ella Lempriere." 

The aggregate value of the memorial windows in 
the church amounts to over ^1000. 

From "a true note and terrier" of houses and lands 
belonging to the perpetual curacy of St. Mary, I find 
that one John Jefferson of Hull, boatman, by his will 
bearing date 1 769, gave, after the death of Sarah his 



£2 ilUIJ.INIA, 

wife, the house, garth, and grounds, fronting the grave- 
yard, being number 53, Lowgate. The ground on 
which the buildings are erected contains 272 square 
yards. Eleanor Scott, of Kingston-upon-Hull, widow, 
by her will bearing elate 171 7, gave, after the death of 
her sister-in-law, Hannah Billington, a messuage in the 
High-Street, i( to the use and behoof of the Parson of 
the Low Church/' and to his successors for ever, which 
is at present occupied by the Messrs. Binney, and 50 
acres of land, freehold, situate at Great Cowden, This 
was purchased in 181 7, for £1,700, of which, ^500 
was bequeathed by Joseph Rennard, Esq., in 1808; 
^100 contributed by the then patron, Saml. Thornton, 
Esq., and the rest by the Governors of Queen Ann's 
Bounty. In 1868, a piece of land was given by Mrs. 
Scott, to the Vicar for the time being of St. Mary's 
Church, and his successors for ever, for the purpose of 
buildinor a Parsonage. 

There are belong-ino- to the church, the following" 
ancient silver articles : — ■ 

One Chalice or Cup, with Cover, Silver-gilt, given by Thos. Grathorn, 
in the year 1620. 

TVo Chalices or Caps, with Covers ; Two Pattens or Salvers — Silver — 
One large Dish— given by John Swan, in the year I008. each 
hearing the same inscription, viz: — " Donum Domini Johannes 
Sivan, Mercatpris, 1638." 

One large Chalice— Silver — given by Sir John Lister, in the year 1640, 
with the inscription : — " The gift of Sir John Lister, to the 
Church of Saint Maries, in Kingoton-upon-Hull, 1640." 

Two large Flagons — Silver— given by Geo. Dickinson, in the year 169-5, 
hearing the inscription — *' The Gift of Mr. Goo. Dickinson, Junr., 
late Collector of his Majesty's Customs, for the use o! ihv Com- 
munion Table of the Parish Church of St. Maries, in Hull, 
Feb. 1st, 169.5." 

One small Plate — Silver — given by Goo. Dickinson, in the year 1746, 

In 1864, a Vestry Tabic, given by Miss Anna 
Dixon, in memory of her brother. Two Footstools 

for the Chancel, worked and presented by the family 
of Sir Henry Cooper. The Rev. John Scott, deceased 
in .1065, left to tlie vestry about 250 volumes There 



HULLIXIA. 93 

is also an ancient library of valuable books. The fol- 
lowing are the names of persons that have bequeathed 
sums for the use of the poor of St. Mary's parish : — 
William Popple, Alderman William Ramsden, Robert 
Trippett, Robert Stephens, Catherine Dunn, Elizabeth 
Spacey, Thomas Hawkins, Jane Gault, Elizabeth 
Harris, John Marshall, T. Hewson, and J. Rennard. 

It is rather remarkable that sculptured stones of 
an ecclesiastical character were found in the walls of the 
north Blockhouse when demolished in 1802 ; and in 
excavating the locks of the Victoria dock, in 1850, a 
similar stone was dug up from the foundation of an old 
wall which formed part of the fortifications from the 
north Blockhouse to the Castle. This latter, together 
with the remains of a window head from the old Manor 
Hall, is in the museum of the Literary and Philosophi- 
cal Society of this town. Moreover, when the magazine 
was demolished, in 1863, the stone forming the pillars 
and arches of the entrance were found to have belonged 
to some ecclesiastical building. The sculptured stones 
that had been turned in and not exposed to the action 
of the elements were sound and perfect. This evidence 
confirms the statement that Henry VIII. destroyed a 
portion of St. Mary's Church for the enlargement of his 
Manor, and for building the Blockhouses which he had 
ordered to be constructed on the o-arrison side. It is 
also highly probable, as the church was considered 
scarcely inferior to Holy Trinity, that St. Mary's ex- 
tended the same distance east and west from the Tower 
which appears to have been in the middle ; although 
it did not run so far eastward in its early days as it 
does at present by three bays. Tickell says, a con- 
siderable addition was made to the east end in 1588, 
the 30th year of Queen Elizabeth's reign. This is 
very manifest upon close examination of the newdy 
added columns — the old ones being more massive and 
of a different style. 

The whole edifice has lately undergone a thorough 



94 HULLINIA. 

restoration, and is acknowledged to be, externally and 
internally, one of the handsomest churches in Hull. 
The Tower is in four stages. In the west face of the 
second story is a beautiful three-light perpendicular 
window. The parapet is ornamental, and the height 
of the Tower to top of the pinnacles, at the angles, is 
1 06 feet. There are no buttresses on the north side of 
the church, and those on the south side are finished 
with pretty crocketed pinnacles in the Perpendicular 
style. The new south Aisle is lighted by two four- 
light windows at the ends, two three-light, and a double 
window of two lights in the side. The Porch and 
Vestry occupy the other divisions. The Clerestory of 
the Nave is nearly all glass, having no less than twelve 
three-light windows on each side. The great east 
window is of seven lights, all, excepting the double one 
just mentioned, being of the Perpendicular period. 
The Porch is ornamented with perforated parapets. 
The interior is divided by three arcades of six moulded 
arches springing from clustered pillars. The roof of 
the Nave is of pitch pine richly ornamented, and those 
of the Aisle, organ recess and Vestry, are of the same 
material. The floor of the Chancel is ornamented with 
encaustic tiles. The great seven-light east window is 
said to have formerly contained, in stained glass, several 
armorial bearings of nobility locally connected. The 
furniture of the church is very elegant. The Com- 
munion Table is of polished oak. In the front of it is 
a brass tablet dedicated by the Rev. John Scott, M.A., 
" in pious remembrance of an honored father." The 
Reredos is beautiful in design and workmanship. 
The Pulpit is of richly carved oak from a design by 
Mr. G. Scott, the eminent Architect, and is the joint 
gift of Mary Jane Dossor, Eliza Fearne, and John Loft, 
in affectionate remembrance of J. G. Fearne, T. Loft, 
and R. A. Loft. In a recess at tiie east corner of the 
Aisle stands the organ a beautiful and powerful instru- 
ment. The Pont is modern and richly sculptured. 



iiULLiNiA. 95 

Two of the windows on the south side have been filled 
with richly stained glass in memory of Mary Moor, 
presented by her brother and sister. 

Having glanced at the principal features connected 
with the origin, restoration and general arrangement of 
this church, let us now proceed to its tombs. 

Beneath the tower lies buried a mayor of Hull. 
The gravestone bears the following inscription : — 
" Here lieth interred the body of William Mould, late 
merchant and alderman of Hull, who was twice mayor 
of the same town. He departed this life Feb. 26th, 
A.D., 1 72 1, in the 66th year of his age." Affixed to 
the north wall is a fine bust in memory of William 
Dobson, Esq., merchant and adventurer, and twice 
mayor of Hull, who died in 16 16. He was buried in 
the north Aisle. The monument has recently been re- 
stored at the expense of Christopher Sykes, Esq., M.P., 
the deceased having been an ancestor of the late Lady 
Sykes. The inscription, in Latin, is thus rendered : — 

u In memory of the Mayor of this Corporation, who was twice in that 
" office, adorned in purple, bearing the sword and mace, as emblems of 
" magistracy. It is difficult to say whether he (who had abilities suit- 
" able to his station) was a greater patron of justice, or severe revenger 
" of any breach made upon it. But the position lie held in the town 
"was of no account, when laid in the balance with his great virtue. 
''William Dobson was desirous to see people happy, and out of his 
" riches he generously gave and distributed to pious uses, to purchase 
" heaven, far more precious than any earthly treasure. He was devout, 
" loyal, and hospitable, having a sincere love for God, the king, and his 
" country ; being adorned with these great virtues, he was well spoken 
" of in this world, and there is no reason to doubt of his happiness in 
" the other." 

A daughter of Aid. Dobson, above named, was 
married to Sir Henry Thompson, late of Middlethorpe, 
Knight, sometime Lord Mayor of the City of York, 
who died 16th May, 1690. 

Over the south door is an elegant memorial of the 
Rev. John Scott, M.A., son of the great commentator 
Thomas Scott, upwards of 30 years vicar of North 
Ferriby, and 18 years minister of this church. This 
elegant monument is of white marble. In the centre 



96 IIULLINIA. 

is a bas relief likeness of the deceased. In one corner 
is a prayer book and the communion vessels, and un- 
derneath is an affectionate inscription. He died in 
1834, and his remains are interred within the com- 
munion rails. Near this monument is a tablet inscribed 
to Sir Samuel Standidge, Knight, who died in 1801. 
In the year 1795 he was chosen chief magistrate, when 
an attempt was made on the life of his majesty George 
III. Mr. Standidge w r as entrusted with two congratu- 
latory addresses to the King on his deliverance from 
the hand of the would-be assassin — one from the Cor- 
poration, and the other from the Brethren of the 
Trinity House. He was introduced to the King, at a 
levee, by the Duke of Portland, who was the Prime 
Minister of England, and received the honor of knight- 
hood. 

On the south wall, near the organ, is a brass plate 
- — in fine preservation — on which are the effigfies of a 
man, his tw r o wives and three children, with these 
w 7 ords appended : — " Here lyeth John Harrison, scher- 
man and alderman of this town; Alys (Alice) and 
Agnes hys wyfes. Thomas, John and Wyllm, hys 
sonnes, whyche (of whom) John decessed (died) the v 
day of December, in die year of our Lord mdxxv, on 
whose soules Jhu (Jesu) have mercy. Amen."j 

This personage was descended from the ancient 
family of the Harrisons of Yokefleet, that removed 
hither in the reign of Henry VII. He was Mayor in 
1537. The first hospital in England, after the Re- 
formation, was erected by order of his grandson, who 
was also Mayor in 1548, in Chapel-Lane, to maintain 
the poor of which he also endowed it. Buried on the 
south side of the Altar is the worshipful alderman 
Robert Trippet, merchant, and twice Mayor, who was 
married to Mrs. Mary Wilberforce, by whom he had 9 
sons and 5 daughters, 10 of whom lie entombed near 
to this vault. He departed this life November 19th, 
in the the year 1707, in the 69th year of his age. 



HULLINtA. 97 

The following is a translation of the Latin inscription : 
— " Every one of us should be in continued expectation 
of our last change ; for there is no perfect felicity in 
this life, and death is only the happy messenger to 
conduct our souls to immortality/' Mr. Aid. Benjamin 
Blaydes is also interred in this church. He died in 
1 771, having been Governor of the Poor, once Sheriff, 
and thrice Mayor of Hull. He was the founder of the 
Hull and Hamburg shipping trade. (The late Joseph 
Gee was the last member of that eminent mercantile 
firm.) Dr. Charles Moss lies buried at the east end 
of the middle Aisle of the church. He died January 
1 7, 1 778, aged 47 years. The following lines are a para- 
phrase of the Latin inscription on his tombstone : — 

" You who come here to meditate 
Upon the soul's eternal state 
Take care ; you're near the Dr.'s urn, 
Simply you may his ashes spurn, 
But treat his mem'ry not with scorn. 
He was a man of brightest parts, 
Knew languages, the world, and arts ; 
But tho' all did in him combine, 
In physic, chiefly, he did shine. 
So tender, so sincere his soul, 
That none, who knew, but must condole. 
Each friend, to whom he seemed a brother, 
'Tis fit, should grieve with one another ; 
Since his benevolence oft' cheer' d, 
As if for them he only cared. 
This marble stone, his mournful dear, 
In token of her love, plac'd here. 

Within the rails rest the remains of Thos. Swan, 
" merchant adventurer, Mayor of this town, who de- 
parted in the mercy of God, the 20th January, 1629." 
Near the Font is an inscription, " In memory of Mr. 
Bailey Marley, upwards of 62 years Organist of this 
church, who departed this life July 4th, 1820, aged 83 
years. Near the Vestry " lieth the body of Robert 
Holies, Recorder, and benefactor to this church, who 
dyed September 4th, 1697." 

In another part of the church lie interred John de 
Colthorpe and his spouse. He was Mayor of Hull in 

G 



98 ' HULLINIA. 

1389, ancl during his mayoralty, the great Weigh-house 
Avas built over the " Haven/' 

In the churchyard, near the Porch, is a remarkably 
fine slab bearing an illustrious name that once figured 
conspicuously in the history of our town — that of Sir 
Robert Hildyard. It is a very elaborate gravestone 
widi the crest of the family, a game cock, thereon. 
The house which formerly belonged to the Hildyards 
was next to the Kings Coffee- House, in High-Street. 
It was originally a most magnificent mansion, with a 
hall open to the roof in several places. It contained 
an old escutcheon, supposed to have been the arms of 
John Tutbury, a great merchant, five times Mayor of 
Hull, in the years 1390, 1408, 141 3, 1425, and 1432, 
who also resided here in his time. This Tutbury left 
by his will certain houses to the Corporation, described 
as near the house called Ley 011s. He was a liberal 
benefactor and contributor towards the buildincr of St. 
Mary's and Holy Trinity. His arms were formerly in 
the Chancel of the former, and his arms and mark 
in the Chancel of the latter. There is no monu- 
ment to record where he is buried. It may be truly 
said of him, that — 

" Praises on tombs are trifles vainly spent; 
A man's own life is his best monument." 

But to return to Sir Robert Hildyard. He was the 
son of Sir Christopher Hildyard and Privy Councillor 
to Charles I. He held the post of Colonel of the Foot, 
and Commander of Sir Marmaduke Lang-don's Brigade 
of Horse. He was Major-general of all the Horse in 
England and Wales. During the civil war, when the 
Scots came into England and the King's army under 
the Duke of Newcastle lay encamped near them, a 
gentleman from the Scots' camp challenged any gentle- 
man of the royal army to mortal combat. Sir Robert 
courageously accepted the challenge and bravely slew 
his adversary, for which he was knighted on the field. 
He was also with Charles at Oxford when that garrison 



HULLINIA. 99 

surrendered ; and, soon "after the Restoration, was, for 
his faithful services and suffering for the royal cause, 
particularly at the battle of Marston Moor, created a 
Baronet. I do not know whether such loyalty and 
patriotism were in any way connected with the crest of 
the family — the pugnacious chanticleer. 

It would require a very large volume to enumerate 
all the names of the good and great men of "mark and 
likelihood," who have long since passed away from 
amongst us, whose troubles and trials in this world are 
over, and who are now resting in peace. 

In looking on those grand old names on the 
graves of our fathers, I find they are a connecting link 
between the past and present — names, of which we 
have much reason to be proud, whose greatness and 
whose lives were made illustrious by their municipal 
philanthropy, patriotic loyalty, and universal goodness ; 
and in taking leave of the two ancient churches and 
their graveyards, which are the heritage of Hull, I am 
reminded by those sacred mementos of death, that the 
inhabitants of those cold, silent and cheerless tene- 
ments once lived and perhaps worshipped beneath the 
hallowed fanes of these stately edifices. Here they 
sleep " the tenants of the earth." As my eyes fell 
upon the innumerable names cut on the sculptured 
slabs, I was reminded that time will bring us all to one 
low level, or, as the poet of nature so truthfully and 
touchingly remarks, — 

" Out brief candle ! 
Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player, 
Who struts and frets his hour upon the stage 
And then is heard no more." 

Yes, such is time : " he gradually takes, on credit, 
our youth, our joys, in fact all we have, and in return 
pays us with age, and ultimately after all our wander- 
ings, shuts up the story of our day, consigning us to the 
dark and silent grave."' But we are reminded that we 
are spirits ; bodies are lent to us while they can afford 

LotC. 



IOO HULLINIA. 

us pleasure, assist us in acquiring knowledge, and in 
doing good to our fellow-creatures ; but, by a benevolent 
act of God, when they become unfit for these purposes, 
and afford pain instead of pleasure, a way is provided, 
and death is that way ; it is the will of the Great 
Creator, and of nature that these mortal bodies be laid 
aside, when the soul enters into real life. 

Let us then ever keep in remembrance, that — 

" Crowns have their compass, length of days their date, 
Triumphs their tomb, felicity her fate ; 
Of nought but earth can earth make us partaker, 
But knowledge makes a man most like his maker." 

In conclusion, let me add that a visit to our grave- 
yards now and then is good for meditation ; for, from 
the tombstone there may be learned many a sacred 
lesson. Death preaches with more effect, more power, 
and more eloquence than the surpliced orator ; and, 
although we may put off the day, 

" To this complexion we all must come at last," 




PAST POETS OF HULL. 




Past Poets of Hull. 




HE following pages have been compiled for the 
purpose of disproving an oft-repeated assertion 
that Hull has not, in times past, produced men 
remarkably gifted In literature, science or art. I shall 
therefore devote myself to the first, the rarest and most 
excellent of these three sisters — Poetry; and before I 
have concluded, I hope you will agree with me that our 
own native towm has furnished a full share of the most 
gifted of the " children of song." I have selected the 
names of those only who can fairly claim to be con- 
sidered local poets, from their having been born in or 
connected with the town of Kingston-upon-Hull. I 
shall not attempt the ungracious task of discussing, or 
trying to discover which, among the names I mention, 
may be considered common-place, or which may be 
looked upon as superior to the others in their mental 
efforts. The task I have set myself is this, — to collect 
together all the memorials of past local genius, and, in 
the words of Montaigne, " I have here only made a 
nosegay of culled flowers, and have brought nothing of 



HULLINIA. 103 

my own but the thread that ties them." And in quot- 
ing these extracts, let us not forget that a florist does 
not reject from his garden bed the simple and common 
flowers because they are not of a rare production. 
Singly appearing, they may be of little attraction ; but 
combined they all contribute to form the "gay parterre." 
So in the specimens I have selected, many of them 
may be considered of little importance ; yet I think 
that altogether they become interesting when blended ; 
especially so, from the names of the poets having con- 
nexion with our town. Besides, if we were to sit in 
judgment and pass sentence upon the compositions of 
the several authors, it would be impossible to give, as 
I intend, a biographical sketch of each. 

Huh has produced no less than twelve poets, from 
whom I have succeeded in beino- able to give extracts 
as specimens of their genius, viz : — 

Andrew Marvell. Nathaniel Tucker. 

Dr. Wittie. Benjamin Thompson. 

Edward Thompson. Isaac Wilson. 

William Mason. Geo. Pryme. 

T. Bridges. Rev. Richard Patrick. 

Ralph Darling. Rev. T. Brown. 

• There were two natives of Hull, who published 
volumes of poetry, copies of which I have not suc- 
ceeded in obtaining, viz: — Hugh Ker Foster, who was 
the author of a work entitled " Parnassian Leaves," 
containing " Hal Deny's Wanderings," and other 
poems, which was published in 1828 ; and Thomas 
Hodgson who wrote a volume with this curious title — - 
" Poems by Nobody, Jim." 

A popular writer very truly says that there are 
some people who dislike poetry — they look upon it as 
ridiculous and unprofitable. These persons are, doubt- 



104 HULLINIA. 

less, totally ignorant of the fact that poetry is co-exist- 
ent with a flourishing state and a prosperous people. 
Many of these stoical individuals have been heard to 
say in all self-sufficiency that the " art sublime/' is of 
no earthly use or advantage. Such people are what is 
termed " hard headed." Their lives are solely devoted 
to mercenary profits. They have no ear for the music 
of a " babbling brook," unless it turns a very profitable 
mill — they hear no " sermons in stones " beyond those 
preached by the rattle of laden carts along our busy 
thoroughfares. These frozen utilitarians, no doubt, will 
likewise consider the innumerable birds that warble in 
the green bushes with all their beauty and sweetness, 
of no worldly good. They who do not like poetry 
think that the first Great Voice that pronounced all 
things good and beautiful is of no value in the great 
11 commercial account." They do not consider that 
poetry is identified with all that makes man glorious 
and God visible. Poetry is to the soul what music is 
to the ear, and men w T ho have no taste for either are 
much to be pitied. They are the worst possible com- 
panions — they are thorns in the side of all that refines, 
and dead to the beauties of nature. 

Recently an attempt has been made by musical 
biographers to set music above poetry. As a rule, 
music as a source of amusement proves the more 
popular ; yet the descriptive power of that art is feeble 
by the side of the articulate potency of poetic language, 
and cannot create as refined emotions. Lyric poetry 
will always be patronised by intellectual pleasure- 
seekers. Though seldom the authors name is men- 
tioned, the poem survives ; but music is soon forgotten 
after the popularity of the air has passed away. The 
delightful productions of Shakespere, Milton, Dryden, 
Pope and Addison will ever continue celebrated, fam- 
ous and popular, although written in a day remote 
from our own. Poetry, in this as well as in other 
countries, formerly took precedence over prose in the 



HULLINIA. 105 

attempt to give permanent mental impressions or in- 
tellectual operations to the transactions of life ; for it 
is indelibly imprinted on the human mind. It kindles 
emotions in the breast when in its essence it appre- 
ciates all that is beautiful and sublime in nature and in 
art. Poetry, on account of its rhyme and metre was 
more easily remembered by our ancestors than prose 
writing. Memory was the principal repository for the 
records of bygone events. Hence, rythmical cadence 
was resorted to, in order to transmit the remembrance 
of fact and incident to persons who could not have 
been witnesses of their occurence, in consequence of 
the lapse of time. In illustration of this we find 
that the earliest poetical productions were either 
devotional effusions or historical narratives. But it is 
almost superfluous to expatiate on either the delight or 
the utility of poetry ; for the subject has been well-nigh 
exhausted by superior hands. In this short composi- 
tion, indeed, it is impossible for me to do justice to the 
charms of the goddess. The Supreme Being has im- 
planted in man a love for poetry. In fact the greater 
portion of the sacred writings was originally written in 
poetry and verse ; and it is stated by the wise son 
of Sirach that amongst the most honorable of mankind 
were those " who found out musical tunes and recited 
verse in writing." Cowper says, that 

" In former days — 
In a Roman mouth, the graceful name, 
Of Prophet and of Poet was the same : 
Hence British Poets too the priesthood shar'd, 
And every hallow'd Druid was a bard." 

To Yorkshire belongs the honor of having pro- 
duced the first person who attained to any celebrity by 
his compositions in the Anglo-Saxon language. For 
some centuries, during the infancy of our literature, no 
educated writer composed in the vernacular ; and Latin 
was deemed by learned men the only proper vehicle 
for conveying their ideas to others. Coedman, a monk 



106 HULLINIA. 

of Whitby, who flourished about the end of the 7th or 
beginning of the 8th century, broke the trammels of 
prejudice and custom — sang in his native tune and 
idiom, and, by the culture of his intellect, placed him- 
self at the head of the class to which he belonged. 

o 

The circumstances under which his talents were first 
developed, are narrated by Bede. He at one time 
acted in the capacity of a common cowherd, and was 
so much less instructed than most of his equals, that he 
had not even learnt any poetry. To his want of edu- 
cation, in all probability, may be attributed the circum- 
stance of his writing in the common language of his 
country. One of the customs of our Anglo-Saxon 
ancestors was, that during supper each person in the 
hall should in his turn sing to the harp, verses either 
of his own composition or others that he had learned. 
As Sir Walter Scott in "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" 
says : — 

" No longer courted and caressed, 
High placed in hall, a welcome guest, 
He poured, to lord and lady gay, 
The unpremeditated lay." 

These were times of great trial to Coedman, and it is 
stated that he was frequently obliged to retire to hide 
his incompetency. Indeed his lot was that of " no 
song, no supper." On one of these occasions, it hap- 
pened to be our embryo poet's turn to keep guard at 
the stable during the night, and, overcome with vexa- 
tion, he quitted the social group and retired to his post 
of duty, where laying himself down, he fell asleep. 
Whilst slumbering, he dreamt that a stranger saluted 
him by his name, and said, " Coedman, sing me some- 
thing." Coedman answered, " I know nothing to sine, 
for my incapacity in this respect was the cause of my 
leaving the hall to come hither." " Nay," said the 
stranger, " but thou hast something to sing." " What 
must I sing?" said Coedman. 4 ' Sing the creation," 
was the reply, and thereupon Coedman began to sing 
verses "which he had never heard before," He then 



HULLIXIA. 107 

awoke, and was not only able to repeat the lines he 
had made in his sleep, but he continued them in a 
strain of admirable versification. In the morning, he 
hastened to the town reeve, or bailiff of Whitby, who 
took him before the Abbess Hilda, and there in the 
presence of the learned men of the place told his story. 
They then expounded to him, in his mother-tongue, a 
portion of scripture, which he was required to repeat 
in verse. Coedman went home with his task, and the 
next morning produced a poem which excelled in 
beauty all that they had been accustomed to hear. 
He afterwards, at her earnest solicitation, became a 
monk in the house of the Abbess Hilda, transferred 
into verse nearly the whole of the Bible, and composed 
miscellaneous poems on various religious subjects, some 
of which have been preserved. 

And now having shown that a native of Yorkshire 
was the first person who wrote Anglo-Saxon poetry, 
and attained celebrity by his compositions, I will now 
look at home, for I wish to give a short sketch of the 
personal history of the Hull Poets, accompanied by 
specimens of their writings. And first, I will proceed to 
notice one whose name must at all times and on all 
occasions claim precedence when alluding to the emi- 
nent men of Hull or elsewhere — I mean 

ANDREW MARVELL. 

Yes ! Marvell was a magnificent poet as well as 
an incorruptible patriot. But it is chiefly in his former 
capacity, as an acute, learned, and witty satirist we will 
speak of him. He was born at Winestead, in Holder- 
ness, on the 15th of November, 1620. His father, a 
pious clergyman, was a native of Cambridge, and M. A. 
of Emanuel College. Having taken holy orders, he 
was appointed Rector of Winestead, and afterwards 
elected Master of the Hull Grammar School. In 1624 
he became lecturer of the Holy Trinity Church. 



108 HULLINIA. 

Andrew, after receiving the rudiments of educa- 
tion at the Grammar School, was, at the age of fifteen, 
admitted a student of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
He had previously to this evinced a decided taste for 
the acquisition of letters, and therefore made rapid 
progress. The disciples of Loyola, the order of Jesuits, 
hearing of the talents of Marvell, strove to make him 
a proselyte and enticed him to London. It coming 
to his father's ears that Andrew had left college, for 
he had not been long there, he immediately went to 
town in search of his son, and finding him at a 
bookseller's shop, persuaded him to return, and he was 
re-admitted on the 13th of December, 1638. At the 
early age of eighteen, he took the degree of B.A. 
Andrew continued at the university until the death of 
his father in 1640. The circumstances attending the 
death of Andrew's parent is of so melancholy and ro- 
mantic a character, that perhaps I may be pardoned 
for introducing it. On the opposite shore of the 
H umber lived Madam Skinner, of Thornton College, 
a lady of exemplary virtue and good sense, between 
whom, and Mr. Marvell (the father) a close friendship 
subsisted. This lady had an only daughter, the emblem 
of her mother, which made the mother so fond of her 
child, that she could scarcely bear to let her go out of 
her sight. Yet, upon the request of Mr. Marvell, she 
consented for her to come to Hull, to stand god-mother 
to one of his children ; but she was to return home the 
following day without fail. When the young lady 
came down to the water- side in order to recross, she 
found the wind very high, and the water so turbulent, 
that the boatmen earnestly endeavoured to dissuade 
her from crossing; but having promised her parent, 
and knowing her mother would be unhappy until she 
saw her acrain, she resolved to hazard her life rather 
than prolong the anxiety of a fond parent ; upon which 
Mr. Marvell with difficulty persuaded some of the 
watermen to attempt the passage, proffering to accom- 



HULLIX1A. I09 

pany them himself; and just as they put off, he flung 
his gold-headed cane on shore, urging some friends 
who attended them, if he perished, to give the cane 
to his son, and bid him remember his father. By these 
words he must have had some presentiment of his 
death. His fears were too justly founded, for the boat 
capsized soon after leaving the shore and all on board 
perished, nor were there any remains of them or the 
craft ever found. The mother of the young lady 
for a long time was inconsolable, but when her grief 
subsided, she reflected on young Andrew's loss, and 
determining to supply to him the want of a parent, 
she made him her heir, and bequeathed to him at her 
demise the whole of her property. — 

Since I commenced the compilation of this work, 
I have had an opportunity of perusing the diary of 
Abraham de la Pryme, the old historian of Hull, and 
whilst narrating the melancholy drowning of Marvell's 
father, I am reminded of the following paragraph to be 
found in Pryme's work, which alludes to our noble 
estuary, the Humber. It is worth recording, and with- 
out further apology, before proceeding with our memoir, 
I insert it. He says, " Being Monday, 1695, I went 
to Hull — from Roxby to Barton, and from thence over 
the water, which is about five miles to Hull ; we paid 
a groat for our passage, and a shilling for a horse. 
Hull is mightily improved since I saw it last ; but it is 
a mighty factious town, there being people of all sects 
in it." Mr. Jackson, the editor of Pryme's Diary, in 
his notes concerning it, then quotes from a " Tour thro 
the whole Island of Great Britain, by a gentleman. \st 
Edition, 1 742, " the following: — "There has been a ferry 
over the Humber from Barton to the mouth of the 
River Hull from very early times, probably prior to 
the foundation of Kingston-upon-Hull, by Edward I. 
A traveller, who is believed to have been none other 
than the author of ' Robinson Crusoe' crossed over this 
ferry a few years after Abraham de la Pryme was 



IiO HULLIN1A. 

there. He had not a pleasant passage. The writer of 
the Tour acids — There are some good towns on the 
sea coast, but I include not Barton, which stands on 
the H umber, as one of them, being a straggling, mean 
town, noted for nothing but an ill-favoured, dangerous 
passage or ferry over the H umber to Hull, where, in 
an open boat, in which we had about 18 horses, and 10 
or 1 2 cows, mixed up with 1 7 or 18 passengers, we 
were about four hours tossed about on the H umber 
before we could get into the harbour of Hull." — 

Shortly after the death of his father, young Mar- 
veil left college to indulge his inclination for travelling. 
He spent four years in Holland, France, Spain and 
Italy. His first satirical poem w r as written in the 
" eternal city." and entitled " Flecnoe, an English 
Priest at Rome." Here too it was that Marvell first 
met Milton, from which circumstance, an acquaintance 
was formed between these illustrious men, which 
ripened into lasting friendship. Ten years afterwards, 
in 1652, when Marvell returned to England, Milton 
wrote him a letter of recommendation to President 
Bradshaw, in which he spoke of the patriotic poet as a 
person well fitted to assist him in his office of Latin 
secretary to Cromwell, adding that he was " a man of 
singular desert for the state to make use of." As the 
letter is locally interesting, I will give it in extcnso. It 
is inscribed to the Honourable the Lord Bradshaw : — 

" My Lord, 

" But that it would bo an interruption to the public, wherein your 
" studies are perpetually employed, I should now or then venture to sup- 
"ply this my enforced absence with a line or two, though it were onely 
" my business, and that would be noc slight one, to make my due ac- 
" knowledgements of your many favource ; whieh I both doe at this time, 
" and ever shall ; and have this farder, which I thought my parte to let 
" you know of, that there will be with you to-morrow, upon some occasion 
"of business, a gentleman whoso name is Mr. Marvile; a man whom, 
"both by report and the converse I have had with him, of singular 
" desert for the slate to make use of ; who alsoe offers himsclfo, if there 
"be any imployment for him. J I is father was the minister of Hull ; and 
"ho hath spent fouryoars abroad, in Holland, Franco, Italy, and Spaine, 
"to very go )d purpose, as I believe, and the gaineing of those Pour lang- 
" uages ; besides, he is a scholler, and welJ read in the Latin and Greek 
" authors ; and no doubt of an approved conversation, for he comes now 



ilULLINIA. 1 I I 

" lately out of the house of the Lord Fairfax, who was General!, where 
" he was intrusted to give some instructions in the languages to the 
" Lady his daughter If, upon the death of Mr. Weckkerlyn, the Coun- 
M cell shall think that I shall need any assistance in the performance of 
" my place (though for my part I find no encumbrances of that which 
l ' belongs to me, except it be in point of attendance at Conferences with 
" Ambassadors, which I must confess, in my condition, I am not fit for,) 
" it would be hard for them to find a mansoe fit every way for that pur- 
" pose as this Gentleman, one who I believe, in a short time, would be 
" able to do them as much service as Mr. Ascan. This, my Lord, I write 
" sincerely, without any other end than to perform my dutey to the pub- 
<; lick, in helping them to an humble servant ; laying aside those 
"jealousies, and that emulation, which mine own condition might sug- 
" gest to me, by bringing in such a coadjutor ; and remaine, 

My Lord, 
Your most obliged, and 

Faithfull Servant, 

February 21, 1652. JOHN MILTON." 

This letter failed to procure him an immediate ap- 
pointment. However, in 1654, Cromwell engaged him 
as preceptor to his nephew. As the times turned, it is 
probable that the patronage of the Lord President 
would have been rather injurious than beneficial to his 
prospects, for Bradshaw was opposed to Cromwell, by 
whom he was deprived of the Chief-justiceship of 
Chester. In 1654, when Milton's famous second de- 
fence of the People of England in reply to Salmasius 
appeared, Marvel! was commissioned to present the 
book to the Protector. How he was received may be 
conjectured from a letter to Milton on that occasion, 
which I here insert entire : — 

" Honoured Sir, 

" I did not satisfy myself in the account I gave you of presenting 
" your book to my Lord ; although it seemed to me that I wrote to you alt 
M which the messenger's speedy return the same night would permit me : 
' ; and I perceive that by reason of that haste, I did not give you satisfac- 
" tion, neither concerning the delivery of your letter at the same time. 
" Be pleased, therefore, to pardon me, and know that I tendered them 
" both together. But my Lord read not the letter while I was with him ; 
" which I attributed to our dispatch, and some other business tending 
" thereto, which I therefore wished ill to, so far as it hindered an affair 
" much better, and of greater importance— I mean that of reading your 
" letter. And to tell you truly mine own imagination, I thought that 
" he would not open it while I was there, because he might suspect that 
u I, delivering it just upon my departure, might have brought in it some 
" second proposition, like to that which you had before made to him, by 



112 HULLINIA. 

" your letter to my advantage. However, I assure myself that he has 
" since read it with much satisfaction. 

" Mr. Oxenbridge, on his return from London, will, I know, give 
" you thanks for his book, as I do, with all acknowledgment and hu- 
" mility, for that you have sent me. I saall now study it, even to gctt- 
" ing it by heart. When I consider how equally it turns and rises, with 
" so many figures, it seems to me a Trajan's column, in whose winding 
" ascent we see embossed the several monuments of your learned vic- 
"tories; and Salmasius and Morus make up as great a triumph as that 
" of Decebalus ; whom, too, for aught I know, you shall have forced, as 
" Trajan the other, to make themselves away, out of a just desperation. 

" I have an affectionate curiosity to know what becomes of Colonel 
" Overton's business, [he was Governor of Hull, and became a fifth- 
" monarchy-man] and am exceedingly glad to think that Mr. Skinner 
" has got near you ; the happiness which I at the same time congratu- 
" late to him, and envy, there being none who doth, if I may so say, 
"jealously honour you than, 

Honoured Sir, 

Your most affectionate humble Servant, 

Eton, June 2, 1654. ANDREW MARVELL. 

For my most honoured friend, John Milton, Esq., 
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 

At his house in Petty France, Westminster. 

Marvell's letters are not cited as examples of 
composition, in which respect they are hardly worthy 
of his talents, but for the historical intelligence they 
convey, and the testimony they bear to the writer s 
integrity. 

There is extant a letter of his to the Protector, 
rather more respectful than would please either a 
royalist or a determined republican. What part he 
took in the confused passages that ensued on Crom- 
well's death, we are not informed. He was elected 
member for his native town in 1660 — in that Parlia- 
ment which was destined to see the restoration of 
royalty. Though it is probable that he corresponded 
regularly with his constituents from his first election, 
whatever he may have written previous to the tri- 
umphal 29th of May, or in the busy era of intoxication 
which followed, has never been discovered. We can- 
not tell how far he approved the recall of Majesty, 
which he must have seen it vain to oppose, — whether 
he laboured to obtain those securities against the en- 



HULLIXIA. 113 

croachments of prerogative, which the treacherous 
counsels of Monk induced the Convention to forego — 
what he felt on the violent revulson of public feeling 
whereby Charles II. was enabled to establish a sway 
which nothing but his own indolence hindered from 
being despotic — or how he judged of the vindictive 
proceedings of the reinstated loyalists, which had well 
nigh bereft the world of Milton, and of * Paradise Lost/ 
He might not choose to trust his sentiments on such 
subjects to paper, or he might sedulously reclaim and 
destroy writings which endangered others as well as 
himself. It may be necessary to remind the reader, 
that it was only by the communications of Members, 
that provincial constituents could then be made ac- 
quainted with what passed in Parliament. The pub- 
lication of debates was at that time, and long after, 
really and strictly forbidden. Even in Dr. Johnsons 
day, the standing order was evaded by reports under 
feigned names or initials. The Doctor himself pub- 
lished (if he did not compose) " Debates in the Senate 
of Lilliput." 

The earliest parliamentary epistle of Andrew 
Marvell is dated November, 1660, in which he laments 
the absence of his partner, Mr John Ramsden, and tells 
them he " writes but with half a pen, which makes his 
account of public affairs so imperfect ; and yet he had 
rather expose his own defects to their good interpre- 
tation, than excuse thereby a total neglect of his duty." 
" Confiding in the unorganized valour of the English 
nation, and in the capacity of discipline which exists in 
every people, he once and for ever opposed a standing 
army, a species of force, which, had Charles I. possesed, 
he might have been as despotic as he w T ould ; which 
Cromwell possessing, kept the realm at nurse for a 
prince who, with equal means, could have done more 
than the worst of his legitimate or illegitimate prede- 
cessors. The purpose of the Puritans was to turn the 
whole blessed island into a Presbyterian paradise, in 

H 



114 HULLINIA. 

which there was to be nothing but churches and 
churchyards ; — one to be filled with the living bodies 
of the saints, and the other with the hanged carcases 
of their adversaries. The apostate royalists of the 
Restoration would have made England a bear garden, 
in which all vices were free, and from which nothing 
but piety was exiled. Marvell had seen a standing 
army, composed of more respectable materials than 
could easily be replaced, the instrument of one tyranny; 
and most wisely he opposed its continuance, when the 
same mass, compacted of baser atoms, might perpetu- 
ate a tyranny far worse than that which it succeeded. 
He conceived an army to be a giant body without a 
directing soul — a house to let, in which the long house- 
less demon of despotism might live at a nominal rent. 
But hear what Marvell said, nigh 200 years ago : — ' I 
doubt not, ere we rise, to see the whole army disbanded; 
and according to the act, hope to see our town ungar- 
risoned, in which I should be glad and happy to be 
instrumental to the uttermost; for I cannot but remem- 
ber, though then a child, those blessed days, when the 
youth of our town were trained for your militia, and 
did, methought, become their arms much better than 
any soldiers that I have seen since.' Of the excise, 
he observed prophetically, ' he wished it might not be 
continued too loner/ ^ 

In 16 1 5, when Milton became Secretary of State 
for Foreign affairs, lie was appointed assistant Latin 
Secretary to the Commonwealth. He appears to have 
been first chosen in the short Parliament of 1658 — 9, 
summoned after the death of Oliver, during the brief 
protectorate of Richard Cromwell, and soon after dis- 
solved to make way for the restoration of the Rump. 
But what he thought of the Restoration, or how the 
good townsmen of Hull (the first town which shut its 
gates against the sovereign of 1642, and which Gover- 
nor Overton had but a little before refused to surrender) 
were affected by the revival of royalty, his letters do 



HULLIXIA. I I 5 

not inform us. Perhaps it was not thought prudent 
that any record of his sentiments on that occasion 
should survive. 

Marvell was never so much absorbed by politics 
as to forget business. He paid sedulous attention to 
the interests of his borough, and of each of his con- 
stituents, and watched narrowly the progress of private 
bills. 

We cannot participate the surprise of some of 
Marvell's biographers at the tokens of respect which 
he and his partner received from the worthy Corpora- 
tion of Hull. In acknowledging a donation of British 
beverage, Andrew writes thus (Letter 7th, Dec. 8th): 
— " We are now both met together, and shall strive to 
do you the best service w r e are able. We must first 
give you thanks for the kind present you have been 
pleased to send us, which will give us occasion to re- 
member you often ; but the quantity is so great, that 
it might make sober men forgetful." 

11 On the 29th of December the King in person 
dissolved the Parliament w T ith a most gracious speech. 
All hitherto had gone smooth. The King signified, at 
parting, a great satisfaction in what had been done, and 
that it was very shortly his intention to call another 
Parliament. This dissolution did not interrupt his 
correspondence with Hull, neither did he quit London, 
or take any measures to secure his re-election, which 
doubtless he knew to be sure enough. His letters 
during the interval of Parliaments are chiefly taken up 
with news, among which the movements of the King 
and Royal Family occupy a conspicuous place. It 
would seem that the Mayor and Corporation of Hull 
did not take in a newspaper, though several had been 
issued during the civil war, particularly the Mercttrius 
A ulicus, or Court Journal, and the Mercurius Rustiais, 
the reporter of the Republicans. It was, moreover, 
the practice of the Puritan clergy, in their prayers, to 
make a recapitulation of the events of the week, under 



Il6 HULLINIA. 

the form of thanksgiving, or remonstrance. The pulpit, 
in its bearings upon the people, then exerted the power 
which now belongs to the periodical press." 

Reports were already growing rife of conspiracies 
in various quarters. " Still it is my ill fortune/' says 
Marvell, " to meet with some rumour or other, (as I 
did yesterday at the Exchange,) of a plot against Hull, 
(I think indeed those have so that divulge such false- 
hoods,) but I am not failing to suppress any such thing 
where I meet with it. * * * I saw, within this 
week, a letter from a person who dwells not in your 
town, but near, that your Governor was turning out all 
the inhabitants who had been in the Parliament's ser- 
vice ; I believe one is as true as the other." It will not 
be forgotten, that Hull was a depot in which the 
Parliament placed much confidence, and where the 
Presbyterian interest was strong. In January, 1661, 
took place the mad insurrection of Venner and the 
Millenarians. To this Marvell cautiously alludes in 
his letter of 12th January, as " an insurrection of rude 
and desperate fellows '." 

The new Parliament met on the 8th of May, 1661. 
Marvell was re-elected seemingly without opposition ; 
but instead of Mr. John Ramsden, (who was probably 
related to William Ramsden the Mayor of Hull, to 
whom the earlier letters are addressed,) his partner 
was Colonel Gilby, w r ho seems to have started on the 
court interest. Some unrecorded heart-burnings took 
place between the associates at the election, which 
ended in an open rupture, which did not, however, 
prevent Marvell from co-operating with the Colonel, 
when the good of their constituents required. April 
6th, (Letter 14th,) he thus acknowledges his election, 
which had passed without his appearing or haranguing 
from the hustings : — l I perceive you have again ' (as 
if it were a thing of course) l made choice of me, now 
the third time, to serve you in Parliament; which as I 
cannot attribute to anything but your constancy, so 



HULLINIA. I I 7 



God willing, as in gratitude obliged, with no less con- 
stancy and vigour, I shall continue to execute your 
commands, and study your service.' " 

During the years 1668, 69, 70, the public business 
becoming continually more pressing, and the King's 
wants more urgent, Marvell's letters bear more on the 
history of the period, and have less and less of biogra- 
phical interest. Parliament refusing to grant more 
than ,£400,000, to be raised on wines, (an imposition 
very grievous to a monarch who sympathized with the 
privations of his wine-bibbing subjects), the King, dis- 
satisfied with so scanty a supply, and yet more with the 
curious inquiries instituted as to the manner in which 
former grants had been applied, prorogued the Houses 
on the nth of December, on which occasion Andrew 
piously prays, ' God direct his Majesty further in so 
weighty resolutions.' Parliament met again on the 
14th of February, 1669 — 70. About this time there 
occur several epistles from Marvell to his friend Wm. 
Ramsden, which, though almost wholly political, ex- 
press his observations on public affairs with a circum- 
stantiality, and his opinions with a freedom, w r hich the 
nature of his official correspondence precluded. It 
may not be unamusing to compare a few passages re- 
ferring to the same occurrences : the business-like 
brevity and caution of the public document is admir- 
able. If ever he takes a little flight it is to pay a 
compliment to Majesty, which no one need understand 
ironically. Thus of the King's gracious recommen- 
dation to put a stop to the differences of the Houses in 
Skinner's business. — To Mr. Henry Duncalf, Mayor : 
— ' Our house did unanimously vote the entry of this 
speech in our journal. A message was forthwith sent 
to desire leave to wait on the King, so that we have 
been twice at Whitehall in one morning, all infinitely 
satisfied with the King's justice, prudence, and kindness 
in this matter, and I doubt not but all good English- 
men will be of the same mind.' To Mr. William 



IlS HULLINIA. 

Ramsden : — " When we began to talk of the Lords, 
the King sent for us alone, and recommended an 
erasure of all proceedings ; the same thing you know 
that we proposed at first. We presently ordered it, 
and went to tell him so the same day. At coming 
down (a pretty ridiculous thing), Sir Thomas Clifford 
carried speaker and mace, and all members there, to 
drink the King's health, into the Kings cellar. The 
King sent to the Lords more peremptorily, and they, 
with much grumbling, agreed to the rasure." 

" As a tempting title, in literary warfare, is half the 
battle, Marvell came out with his ' Rehearsal Trans- 
prosed/ of which the full title runs thus : — * The 
Rehearsal Transprosed ; or, Animadversions on a late 
Book entitled a Preface, shewing what grounds and ap- 
prehensions there are of Popery. London : printed by 
A. B., for the. Assignees of John Calvin and Theodore 
Beza, at the Sign of the Kings Indulgence, on the South 
side of the Lake Lemane, 1672/ As we have no wish 
to revive the controversy, we shall merely give a few 
extracts, as specimens of Marvell's prose style — of his 
indefatigable wit, which approaches in quality to 
Butler, while he has, at times, a majesty of anger which 
entitles him to the appellation of a prose Juvenal. His 
reading was great and miscellaneous, and he lays it all 
under contribution. Of the invention of printing, he 
writes in the following cutting train of irony : — " The 
press (that villainous engine,) invented much about the 
same time with the Reformation, hath done more mis- 
chief to the discipline of our church than the doctrine 
can make amends for. It was a happy time, when all 
learning was in manuscript, and some little officer, like 
our author did keep the keys of the library — when 
the clergy needed no more knowledge than to read the 
liturgy, and the laity no more clerkship than to save 
them from hanging. But now, since printing came into 
the world, such is the mischief, that a man cannot write 
a book, but presently he is answered. Could the press 



HULLIXIA. 119 

but at once be conjured to obey only an imprimatur, 
our author might not disdaine, perhaps, to be one of its 
most zealous patrons. There have been wayes found 
out to banish ministers, to find not only the people, but 
even the grounds and fields where they assembled, 
in conventicles ; but no art yet could prevent these 
seditious meetings of letters. Two or three brawny 
fellows in a corner, with meer ink and elbow grease, 
do more harm than a hundred systematical divines, 
with their sweaty preaching. And, what is a very 
strange thing, the very spunges, which one would think 
should rather deface and blot out the whole book, and 
were anciently used for that purpose, are become now 
the instruments to make them legible. Their ugly 
printing letters look like so many rotten tooth drawers ; 
and yet these rascally operators of the press have got 
a trick to fasten them again in a few minutes, that they 
grow as firm a set, and as biting and talkative, as ever. 
O, printing ! how hast thou disturbed the peace of 
mankind ! — that lead, when moulded into bullets, is not 
so mortal as when formed into letters ! There was a 
mistake, sure, in the story of Cadmus ; and the ser- 
pent's teeth which he sowed were nothing else but the 
letters which he invented. The first essay that was 
made towards this art, was in single characters upon 
iron, wherewith, of old, they stigmatised slaves and re- 
markable offenders ; and it was of good use, sometimes 
to brand a schismatic ; but a bulky Dutchman diverted 
it Quite from its first institution, and contriving" those 
innumerable syntagmes of alphabets, hath pestered the 
world ever since, with the gross bodies of their German 
divinity. One would have thought in reason, that a 
Dutchman might have contented himself only with the 
wine-press. 5 ' 

For his transferring the name of Bayes from Dry- 
den to his antagonist he says: — " But before I commit 
myself to the dangerous depths of his discourse, which 
I am now upon the brink of, I would with his leave 



120 HULLINIA. 

make a motion, that, instead of author, I may hence- 
forth indifferently call him Mr. Bayes as oft as I shall 
see occasion ; and that, first, because he hath no name, 
or at least will not own it, though he himself writes 
under the greatest security, and gives us the first 
letters of other men's names before he be asked them. 
Secondly, because he is, I perceive, a lover of elegancy 
of style, and can endure no man's tautologies but his 
own, and therefore I would not distaste him with too 
frequent repetition of one word; but chiefly because Mr. 
Bayes and he do very much symbolize in their under- 
standings, in their humour, in their contempt and 
quarrelling, of all others, though of their own pro- 
fession ; because our divine, the author, manages his 
contest with the same prudence and civility which the 
poets and players of late have practised in their 
divisions ; and lastly, because both their talents do 
peculiarly lie in exposing and personating the Noncon- 
formists. 

There is risen up this spiritual Mr. Bayes, who, 
having assumed to himself an incongruous plurality of 
ecclesiastical offices, one most severe of the peniten- 
tiary universal to the reformed churches ; the other 
most ridiculous, of buffoon general to the Church of 
England, so that he henceforth may be capable of 
any other promotion. * * And not being content 
to enjoy his own folly, he has taken two others into 
partnership, as fit for his design as those two that 
clubbed with Mahomet in making the Alcoran. * * 
But lest I might be mistaken as to the persons I 
mention, I will assure the reader that I intend not 
Hudibras ; for he is a man of other robe, and his ex- 
cellent wit hath taken a flight far above these whiflers : 
that whoever dislikes the choice of his subject, cannot 
but commend his performance of it, and calculate if on 
so barren a theme he were so copious, what admirable 
sport he would have made with an ecclesiastical 
politican.' " 



HULLINIA. 121 

It is pleasant to read this acknowledgment of an 
enemy's merits, which shows that Marvell loved wit 
for its own sake, without looking at the party from 
which it proceeded. But it must be recollected that 
his " withers were un wrung." He was no Puritan — 
no new-light man. If he inclined to one mode of 
church discipline rather than another, he chose that 
which he conceived most favourable to liberty. 

Marvell's strong and deep-thoughted satires gained 
for him the reputation of a wit, even in the court 
where wit was one of the few good things admissible. 
Charles himself forgave the patriot for the sake of the 
humourist. " Loving ridicule for its own sake, he cared 
not whether friend or foe, church or conventicle, were 
the object of derision. Burnet, who vilifies Marvell 
by calling him the ' liveliest droll of the age/ declares, 
that ' his books were the delight of all classes, from 
the King to the tradesman : ' a sentence which acci- 
dentally points out the limits of reading in those days. 
As neither poets nor wits have been always remark- 
able for moral firmness, and are as vulnerable in their 
vanity and fears as politicians in their avarice and 
ambition, no means were omitted to win over Marvell. 
He was threatened, he was flattered, he was thwarted, 
he was caressed, he was beset with spies, and if all 
tales be true, he was way-laid by ruffians, and courted 
by beauties. But no Dalilah could discover the secret 
of his strength : his integrity was proof alike against 
danger and against corruption ; nor was it enervated 
by that flattery, which, more frequently than either, 
seduces those weak, amiable creatures, whom, for lack 
of better, we are fain to call good. Against threats 
and bribes, pride is the ally of principle ; but how often 
has virtue pined away to a shadow, by too fondly con- 
templating its own image, reflected by insidious praise; 
as Narcissus, in the fable, consumed his beauty by 
gazing on its watery shade. In a court which held no 
man to be honest, and no woman chaste, this soft 



122 HULLINIA. 

sorcery was cultivated to perfection ; but Mar veil, re- 
vering and respecting himself, was proof against its 
charms. 

There is a story told of his refusing a bribe, which 
has been heard and repeated by many, who perhaps 
did not know in what king's reign he lived, and which 
has been so often paralleled with the turnips of Curius, 
and the like common places, that some sceptical per- 
sons have held that there is as little truth in the one as 
in the other. However, we believe it to have been 
founded in fact, and that the mistake has been in the 
dulness of those who took a piece of dry English 
humour for a stoical exhibition of virtue. At all events, 
a life of Andrew Marvell would be as imperfect with- 
out it, as a history of King Alfred without the neat- 
herd's cottage and the burnt cakes. It is related with 
various circumstances, but we shall follow the narrative 
of a pamphlet printed in Ireland, A.D., 1754: — 'The 
borough of Hull, in the reign of Charles II., chose 
Andrew Marvell, a voungr crentleman of little or no 
fortune, and maintained him in London for the service 
of the public. His understanding, integrity, and spirit, 
were dreadful to the then infamous administration. 
Persuaded that he would be theirs for properly asking, 
they sent his old school-fellow, the Lord Treasurer 
Danby, to renew acquaintance with him in his garret. 
At parting, the Lord Treasurer, out of pure affection, 
slipped into his hand an order upon the treasury for 
,£1000, and then went to his chariot. Marvell, looking 
at the paper, calls after the Treasurer, ' My Lord, I 
request another moment.' They went up again to the 
garrett, and Jack, the servant boy, was called. 'Jack, 
child, what had I for dinner yesterday ? ' ' Don't you 
remetnber, sir ? you had the little shoulder of mutton 
that you ordered me to bring from a woman in the 
market.' ' Very right, child.' ' What have I for dinner 
to-day ? ' * Don't you know, sir, that you bid me 
lay by the bladc-bonc to broil" i 'Tis so, very right, 



HULLINIA. 123 

child, go away/ ' My Lord, do you hear that ? 
Andrew Marvell's dinner is provided ; there's your 
piece of paper. I want it not. I knew the sort of 
kindness you intended. I live here to serve my con- 
stituents : the ministry may seek men for their purpose ; 
/ am not one! 

That Marvell was exposed to assaults from the 
drunken, insolent followers of the Court, such as those 
that revenged the cause of Nell Gwyn on Sir John 
Coventry's nose, is almost certain. Homicide, in a 
midnight scuffle, was then esteemed as venial as adultry. 
The habit of bloodshed, contracted in civil warfare, had 
choked up the natural remorse of hearts which had 
either no religion, or worse than none. But that any 
settled design of assassinating him was meditated by 
any party, cannot be proved. 

Marvell was supposed to be the writer of what 
was termed by the government, " seditious and scan- 
dalous libels, against the proceedings of both Houses 
of Parliament," and rewards were offered for the dis- 
covery of the printer, and for the " hander of it to the 
printer." So little was Marvell alarmed at this move- 
ment, that he writes to his friend Popple in a strain of 
jocular defiance about it. The letter is dated 10th 
June, 1678, and is perhaps the latest of his extant 
writings : — " There came out, about Christmas last, a 
large book, concerning 4 The growth of Popery and 
arbitrary Government/ There have been great re- 
wards offered in private, and considerable in the 
Gazette, to any one who would inform of the author. 
Three or four books, printed since, have described, as 
near as it was proper to go, the man, Mr. Marvell, 
being a member of Parliament, to have been the author ; 
but if he had, surely he would not have escaped being 
questioned in Parliament, or some other place." No 
prosecution, however, ensued, but dark and desperate 
menacings hovered around him ; he was obliged to be 
cautious of going abroad, and was sometimes obliged 



124 HULLINIA. 

to secrete himself for several days. Perhaps he found 
it prudent to absent himself from town, and seek se- 
curity among his constituents ; for in an extract from 
the records of the Hull Corporation, we find this 
notice : — " This day, 29th July, 1678, the court being 
met, Andrew Marvell, Esq., one of the burgesses of 
Parliament for this Borough, came into court, and 
several discourses were held about the town affairs." 
We know not, whether like his father, he was possessed 
with a presentiment of approaching mortality, and felt 
that this was to be his last visit to the scenes of his 
childhood ; but certain it is, he was destined to see 
them no more. He returned to London, and with 
scarce any previous illness, or visible decay of consti- 
tution, on the 16th of August * he expired, in the 58th 
year of his age, supposed by poison. 

Marvell does not seem to have sympathized with 
the anti-monarchial prejudices of Milton. He is said 
to have written a most pathetic letter on the execution 
of King Charles. Certainly he expressed not pity 
merely, but admiration for that Prince, and that too in 
an ode addressed to Oliver Cromwell, but so worded, 
that it may pass either for a satire or a eulogy on the 
Protector. 

AN HORATIAN ODE 
UPON CROMWELL'S RETURN FROM IRELAND. 

* # * 

" Though justice against fate complain, 
And plead the ancient rights in vain : 

But those do hold or break, 

As men are strong or weak. 
Nature, that hateth emptiness, 
Allows of penetration less ; 

And therefore must make room 

"Where greater spirits come. 
What field of all the civil Avar, 
Where his were not the deepest scar ? 



HULLINIA. 125 

And Hampton shows what part 

He had of wiser art : 
When twining subtle fears with hope, 
He wove a net of such a scope, 

That Charles himself might chace, 

To Carisbrook's narrow case ; 
That thence the royal actor borne, 
The tragic scaffold might adorne, 

While round the armed bands, 

Bid clap their bloody hands : 
He nothing common did, or mean, 
Upon that memorahle scene ; 

Bui with his keener eye, 

The axe's edge did trye. 
Nor calVd the Gods ivith vulgar sptight, 
lo vindicate his helpless right : 

But boio'd his comely head 

Boune, as upon a bed. 
This was that memorable houre, 
Which first assured the forced power; 

So when they did design e 

The capitol's first line, 
A bleeding head w r here they begun 
Did fright the architects." 

"The poems of Marvell are, for the most part, pro- 
ductions of his early youth. They have much of that 
over-activity of fancy, that remoteness of allusion, which 
distinguishes the school of Cowley ; but they have also 
a heartfelt tenderness, a childish simplicty of feeling, 
among all their complication of thought, which would 
atone for all their conceits, if conceit were indeed as 
great an offence against poetic nature as Addison and 
other critics of the French school pretend. But though 
there are cold conceits, a conceit is not necessarily cold. 
The mind, in certain states of passion, finds comfort in 
playing with occult or casual resemblances, and dallies 
with the echo of a sound. 



126 HULLINIA, 

We confine our praise to the poems which he 
wrote for himself. As for those he made to order, for 
Fairfax or Cromwell, they are as dull as every true son 
of the muse would wish these things to be. Captain 
Edward Thompson, who collected and published 
Marvell's works in 1776, has, with mischievous industry 
scraped together, out of the state poems, and other 
common sewers, a quantity of obscene and scurrilous 
trash, which we are convinced Marvell did not write, 
and which, by whomsoever written, ought to be de- 
livered over to condign oblivion. 

With less injury to Marvell's reputation, but equal 
disregard of probability, Captain Thompson ascribes 
to him the hymns or paraphrases, ' When all thy mer- 
cies, Oh my God/ 'The spacious firmament on high/ 
which were published in the Spectator, and afterwards 
in the works of Addison, to whom they undoubtedly 
belong. He was not the man to claim what w r as not 
his own. As to their being Marvell's, it is just as pro- 
bable that they are Chaucer's. They present neither 
his language, his versification, nor his cast of thought." 

We cannot conclude, without giving the following 
beautiful extract from a letter to a friend in affliction, 
which is novel on a trite subject, — that of consola- 
tion : — 

"Honoured Sir, 

" Having a great esteem and affection for you, and the grateful 
" memory of him that is departed being still green and fresh upon my 
M spirit, I cannot forbear to enquire, how you have stood the second 
" shock, at your sad meeting of friends in the country. I know that the 
" very sight of those who have been witnesses of our better fortune, doth 
"but serve to reinforce a calamity. I know the contagion of grief, and 
11 infection of tears ; and especially when it runs in a blood. And I my- 
" self could sooner imitate than blame those innocent relentings of 
" nature, so that they spring from tenderness only, and humanity, not 
" from an implacable sorrow. The tears of a family may flow together 
" like those little drops that compact the rainbow, and if they be placed 
" with the same advantage towards heaven, as those are to the sun, 
U they, too, have their splendour ; and like that bow, while they unbend 
" into seasonable showers, yet they promise that there shall not be a 
u second flood. But the dissoluteness of grief — the prodigality of sor- 
" row— is neither to be indulged in a man's self, nor complied with in 
" others. Though an only son be inestimable, yet it is like Jonah's sin, 
M to be angry at Uod for the withering of his gourd. He that gave his 



IIULLINIA. 127 

u own son. may he not take ours ? It is pride that makes a rebel ; and 
" nothing but the overweening of ourselves, and our own things, that 
M raises us against Divine Providence. Whereas, Abraham's obedience 
u was better than sacrifice. Arid if God please to accept both, it is in- 
" deed a farther trial, but a greater honour. "lis true, it is a hard task 
" to learn and teach at the .-^ame time. And where yourselves are the 
" experiment, it is as if a man should dissect his own body, and lead the 
" anatomy lecture. But I will not heighten the difficulty, while I ad- 
M vise thG attempt. Only, as in difficult things, you would do well to 
" make use of all that may strengthen and assist you ; the Word of God, 
u the society of good men, a id the books of the ancients : there is one 
" way more, which is bv diversion, business and activity, which are also 
i ' necessary to be used in their season." 

It is much to be regretted, that no person has, as 
yet, published a portable volume of MarvelFs many 
poems. I hope the day is not distant, when his effus- 
ions will be collected and issued from the press. It 
would, indeed, be a pleasing remembrance of the in- 
corruptible patriot and true poet. Who would imagine 
that the following gentle verses were the outpourings 
of a mind schooled in desperate days, under the arbi- 
trary and ruinous rule of King Charles II., whose 
government quailed under MarvelTs biting satire, 
brilliant wit, and sterling truths, which often caused him 
to conceal himself from their dark threatenings. Doubt- 
less, the following beautiful poem was written during 
his temporary durance from political activity : — 

THOUGHTS IN A GARDEN. 
How vainly men themselves amaze, 
To win the palm, the oak, or "bays : 
And their incessant labours see 
Crown'd from some single herb, or tree. 
Whose short and narrow winged shade 
Does prudently their wits upbraid ; 
While all the flowers, and trees, do close, 
To weave the garlands of repose. 

Fair quiet ! have I found thee here, 
And innocence, thy sister dear ? 
^Mistaken long, I sought you then 
In busy companies of men. 
Tour sacred plants, if here below, 



128 HULLINIA, 

Only among the plants will grow. 
Society is all but rude 
To this delicious solitude. 

No white, nor red, was ever seen 

So am'rous as this lovely green. 

Fond lovers, cruel as their flame, 

Cut in these trees, their mistress' name. 

Little, alas, they know or heed, 

How far their beauties her exceed ! 

Fair trees ! where'er your barks I wound, 

No name shall but your own be found. 

What wond'rous life is this I lead ! 
Ripe apples drop about my head ; 
The luscious clusters of the vine 
Upon my mouth do crush their wine. 
The nectarine, and envious peach — 
Into my hands themselves do reach ; 
Stumbling on melons, as I pass, 
Insnared with flowers, I fall on grass. 

Meanwhile, the mind from pleasure less, 

Withdraws into its happiness ; 

The mind, that ocean where each kind 

Does straight its own resemblance find ; 

Yet it creates, transcending these, 

Far other worlds, and other seas ; 

Annihilating all that's made 

To a green thought in a green shade. 

There at the fountain's sliding foot, 
Or at some fruit-tree's mossy root, 
Casting the body's rest aside, 
My soul into the boughs docs glide ; 
There, like a bird, it sits and sings, 
Then whets and claps its silver wings, 
And till prepared for longer flight, 
Waves in its plumes the various light. 



HULLINIA. 129 

Dr. WITT IE 

Resided in Hull during the 17th century as a medical 
practitioner. He was the author of several books 
connected with his profession. He translated from the 
Latin of James Primrose, M.D. — •" Popular Errours of 
the people, in matters of Physic/' the Preface to which 
is dated "From my house at Hull, December 2, 1650." 
On the subject of this translation, his friend Andrew 
Marvell addressed complimentary poems to him — one 
in English, in which he styles our author as his 
" worthy friend," and the other, inscribed " Dignissimo 
sao amico Doctori Witty." One of his works, published 
in 1681, was entitled -"A survey of the Heavens." He 
appears to have died at a ripe age, some time after 
1694-5, as ^ e was ^en living, having published his first 
work more than 50 years previously. At the con- 
clusion of the "Survey of the Heavens," is printed 
" The Gout Rapture, augmented and improved, or an 
historical fiction of a War among the Stars, in English, 
Latin, and Greek Lyric verse, useful to Schools and 
such as would apply themselves to the study of As- 
tronomy and the Celestial Globe." 

In an address to the reader, the poet says : — " I 
was in a fit of the gout when first I projected the fol- 
lowing Ode, and being not able to handle a pen, or 
turn over the leaves of a book, I happened to fall into 
a contemplation of the celestial bodies, with the modern 
opinions of wise men concerning their motion, aspects, 
and other accidents ; * * % and the subject runn- 
ing much in my mind, I fancied it might be pleasant, 
to make a historical fiction of a war amongst the stars, 
and not improperly, seeing all astronomers agree, that 
there are inimicitous aspects among them sometimes, 
as well as amicable." Accordingly all the constellations 
are marshalled and brought into conflict. We have 
" a standing army of fixed stars," a " flying army of 
planets," — and indeed, the whole stellar zodiac in a 

1 



130 IIULLIN1A. 

state of belligerency ! Five verses will be sufficient to 
shew the style of these poetical " Gout Raptures " : — 

I sing of horrid tumults — 

As the gout permits to do it ; 

I stretch my throat, in a triple note, 

That all the world may know it. 

To poetry I pretend not, 

And pain disturbs invention ; 

Yet the matters high, transcend the skie, 

And call for strict attention. 

Urania ! here's thy subject ! 
Now lend me too thy fancy ; 
Of all the nine, thou shalt be mine, 
I'll to the stars advance the3. 

I saw the Sun once setting, 
Down to the north descending, 
When all the stars fell into jars 
About the rule contending. 



'a* 



The Hemisphere was darkened ; 

The age securely snorting ; 

Long was the night, and sharp the fight, 

As I am now reporting. 

In this strain he goes on through 134 verses, 
which are repeated in Latin and Greek, thus showing 
a thorough knowledge, not only of every one of those 
rolling orbs which flash upon us when night hangs her 
jewelled tapestry above the earth, but also of the dead 
languages. He was deeply learned in astronomy, and 
must often have had his eyes turned " to Heaven's 
broad frame," as he wrote of those lights which shine so 
thickly — spreading themselves over the whole firma- 
ment. 

The next author's name that deserves our atten- 
tion is that of 




Commodoke Edward Thompson. 



f/hm mi wgitutf liua/iftf m Mr Ptuseaien //' £adp /fyAam ' 



i 



HULLIXIA. I 3 I 

EDWARD THOMPSON. 

To use his own words : — 

11 1 am the Bard (the Naso of my time,) 
Born on the Humber, famed for luscious rhyme." 

Captain Thompson, who is perhaps best known for 
having given to the world an edition of the works of 
his townsman, Andrew Marvell, was the son of a Hull 
merchant. He was born in 1738. At an early age he 
was sent to sea, and made a voyage to the East Indies. 
He was afterwards pressed on board a man-of-war, and 
when only 19, was on board the Jason, in an engage- 
ment off Ushant, between Admiral Hawke, and Con- 
flans. In the same year (1757), he rose to the rank 
of lieutenant, and at the end of the war he retired on 
half-pay. He was known throughout the navy by the 
appelation of " Rhyming Thompson.'' His popularity 
was unparalleled, from the sweetness of his temper and 
the benevolence of his nature. 

In a letter to Mr. Woodhouse, dated the 12th day 
of November, 1 774, he makes it appear probable that it 
was, at that time, his intention to offer himself as a 
candidate, at the ensuing election, for the representa- 
tion of his native town in Parliament. He says : — " I 
find you have had the devil to pay on your election. 
Let who will play the devil, I am determined to stand 
the next time. I lost the borough of Rochester by a 
listless, careless manner ; though I am rather inclined 
to blame myself than my friends." 

Besides the works of Andrew Marvell, Captain 
Thompson edited those of Oldham and Paul Whitehead. 
His first publication was a poem of an objectionable 
nature, called the " Meretriciad!' This was followed in 
1764, by the "Soldier ; v in 1765, by the "Courtezan" 
a poem by the " Demirep" ; and in 1767, by the "Sailor s 
Letters" (two volumes.) He next, in 1769, produced a 
laughable account of the Jubilee at Stratford-on-Avon, 



132 HULLINIA. 

under the title of "Trificulos Trip to the Jubilee" 
and about the same time followed two volumes called 
the " Courts of Cupid" In 1773, he brought forward 
at Drury-Lane Theatre, the " Fair Quaker" a comedy 
altered from Shadwell. On the breaking out of the 
American War, Thompson, through the interest of 
Garrick, who was his intimate friend, obtained a Cap- 
tain's commission, and was appointed to the command 
of the Hycena frigate. He was afterwards in Rodney's 
memorable action off Cape St. Vincent, and brought to 
England the news of the victory. In 1785 he had 
command of the Grampus, on board of which he 
died of fever, off the coast of Africa, on the 1 7th of 
January, 1786. Captain Thompson was a brother 
of the Trinity House, in which an excellent portrait of 
our sailor poet may be found. Many young men, who 
have since distinguished themselves in the service, 
were brought up under his tuition — among whom were 
his nephew, the late Vice- Admiral Sir Thomas Boiilden 
Thompson, and the late Rear Admiral Sir Home 
Popham. Campbell who rates his martial much higher 
than either his literary or moral character, says " a few 
of his sea songs are entitled to remembrance.'' The 
following is a fair specimen of his rollicking style of 
writing : — 

SONG. 

u Loose every sail to the breeze, 

The course of my vessel improve ; 
I've done with, the toils of the seas, 
Ye sailors, I'm bound to my love. 

Since Emma is true as she's fair, 
My griefs I fling all to the wind ; 

'Tis a pleasing return for my care, 
My mistress is constant and kind. 



1 ^ 
JO 



MULLINIA. I 

My sails are all fill' d to my dear ; 

What tropic wind faster can move ? 
Who, cruel, shall hold his career 

That returns to the nest of his love ? 

Hoist every sail to the breeze, 

Come, shipmates, and join in the song ; 

Let's drink, while the ship rolls the seas, ' 
To the gale that may drive her along." 

The next name I shall introduce, is one of the 
most distinguished of our Poets — the 

Rev. WILLIAM MASON. 

His grandfather, Hugh Mason, was appointed in 
1696, Collector of Customs at this port ; and his father 
was Vicar of Holy Trinity Church from 1722 to 1753, 
and founded the Vicar's School in 1 734, in commemo- 
ration of the revolution. 

Our Poet was born in 1725. He was educated at 
the Grammar School, and, in 1742, entered at St. 
John's College, Cambridge, where, in 1749, he took 
the degree of M.A., having previously written a 
" Monody on the death of Pope." He likewise wrote 
his pieces " // Bellicoso" and "// Pacifico" which were 
revised by the Poet Gray, and this laid the foundation 
of that friendship between the two, which terminated 
but with life. In 1752, he published " Elfrida," and 
in 1759, " Caractacus," both dramatic poems. In 1756, 
he published four Odes — on " Independence," " Mem- 
ory," " Melancholy," and the " Fall of Tyranny." Hav- 
ing taken orders, in 1756 he was presented to the 
Rectory of Aston, in Yorkshire. In 1765, he married 
Miss Sherman, of Hull, which lady died two years 
afterwards of consumption, at the age of 28 years, at 
Bristol, where her husband inscribed near her grave 



134 IIULLINIA. 

some beautiful and celebrated lines, concerning which 
Chalmers remarked that " it would not be easy to dis- 
cover a poem, which conveys more quick sympathy, in 
the w T hole range of elegiac poetry." In 1772, Mason 
published the first, and in 1782, the last book of the 
" English Garden/' a beautiful didactic poem in blank 
verse, in the exordium of which, he tells the reader, 
that it was undertaken " less to court the world's 
applause, than to soothe that agony of heart, which 
they alone who best have loved — who best have been 
beloved, can feel and pity, when the object of their love 
is no more ! " 

Gray was a constant visitor at the pleasant parson- 
age of Aston. The garden was beautifully laid out, 
containing a splendid summer-house, built of wood, 
and closely invested with the tendrils and festoons of 
the evergreens and flowering plants. Over the front, 
on a tablet, was painted a stanza from an early edition 
of " Gray's Elegy." (Gray himself having paid Mason 
a visit in 1770, a short time before his death.) On 
entering the temple of the muses, there was displayed 
an embossed medallion of Mason and Gray ; on a 
circular stone was engraven a lyre, and around it a 
Greek inscription ; upon the floor stood two urns and 
pedestals, dedicated to the memory of the friendly 
Poets, reminding one of those lines which open the 
third book of the " English Garden " : — 

" Closed is that curious eye by death's cold hand, 
That mark'd each error of my careless strain 
"With hind severity ; to whom my muso 
Still loved to whisper, what she meant to sing 
In louder accent ; to whose taste supremo 
She first and last appeal'd, nor wished for praise, 
Save when his smile was herald to her fame. 
Yes, thou art gone ; yet friendship's flattering' tongue 
Invokes thee still ; and still by fancy soothed, 
Pain would slfe hope her Gray attends th<? call, 



HULLINIA. I35 

Or fix this votive tablet, fair inscribed 

With numbers worthy thee, for they are thine. 

Why, if thou hear'st me still, these symbols sad 

Of fond memorial ? Oh, my pensive soul ! 

He hears me not, nor ever more shall hear 

The theme his candour, not his taste, approved." 

When Gray died in 1771, the year after his visit 
to Aston, a volume of very pleasing " Memoirs" of him 
was published in 1775, by his friend Mason, who, 
besides being a Poet, possessed considerable accom- 
plishments in the sister arts of painting and music, 
particularly the latter. When he was precentor of 
York Cathedral, he not only composed a Te Deum and 
other pieces for the choir, but an " Essay historical 
and critical, on English Church Music," also a poem 
on Horticulture. 

The youthful character of Mason, as drawn by his 
friend Gray, is at once amiable and amusing. He says 
that " he was one of much fancy, little judgment, and 
a good deal of modesty ; a good well meaning creature, 
but in simplicity a perfect child ; he reads little or 
nothing, writes abundance, and that with a design to 
make a fortune by it ; a little vain, but in so harmless 
a way, that it does not offend ; a little ambitious, but 
withal so ignorant of the world and its ways, that this 
does not hurt him in one's opinion ; so sincere and un- 
disguised, that no one with a spark of generosity would 
ever think of hurting him, he lies so open to injury ; 
but so indolent, that if he cannot overcome this habit, 
all his good qualities will signify nothing at all." 

Mason in politics was an energetic whig; his 
political principles were held in abhorrence at court, 
through publishing some satirical pieces, and ultimately 
this caused all connexion to cease in that quarter. He 
died April 7th, 1797, at Aston, at the age of 72 years, 
where, as well as in Westminster Abbey, there is an 
inscription on a marble tablet to his memory. It is 



136 HULLINIA. 

said, as a Poet, Mason was the last bright link between 
the eras of Pope and Cowper. 

I will now proceed to present my readers with a 
brief sketch and specimen of the writings of 

THOMAS BRIDGES. 

Mr. Baker, the author of "Biographica Dramatical' 
was not aware of the birth-place of this humourous 
poet ; and, indeed, very little is known of his personal 
history. It is certain, however, that he was a banker 
and wine-merchant, and brother to Dr. Bridges, who 
also resided in Hull. He was the author of an amus- 
ing travestie of Homer, in 2 volumes, which he pub- 
lished under the title of "A new translation of Homers 
Iliad, adapted to the capacity of honest English Roast 
Beef and Plum Pudding Eaters, by Caustic Barebones, 
a Broken Apothecary, 1762." He also wrote some 
excellent, light and entertaining poetical pieces, as well 
as a novel entitled " The adventures of a Bank Note," 
besides a Comic Opera, called " Dido," and a musical 
entertainment denominated " The Dutchman." Pre- 
fixed to his translation of the Iliad, is a singular 
description of the author under the assumed name of 
" Barebones." This work appeared three years after 
the failure, in 1759, of the Poet and his unfortunate 
partners, who carried on business under the then well- 
known firm of " Sill, Bridges, and Blunt." A good 
specimen of his poetic genius is found in the account 
of the interposition of Pallas between Agamemnon and 
Achilles, thus singularly translated from the first book 
of the Iliad : — 

" Had you but seen Achilles fret it, 
I think you never would forget it. 
A sight so dreadful ne'er was seen, 
Ho sweat for very rage and spleen ; 
Long was he balanced at both ends, 
When reason mounted, rage descends ; 



HULLINIA. 137 

The last commanded — ' Sword lug out ' ; 
The first advised him not to do 't. 
"With half-drawn weapon fierce he stood, 
Eager to let the general blood ; 
When Pallas, swift descending down, 
Hit him a knock upon the crown ; 
Then roar'd as loud as she could yelp, 
Lugging his ears, * 'Tis I, you whelp ! ' 

Pelides wonder' d who could be 
So bold, and turn'd about to see, 
He knew the brightness of her eyes, 
And loud as he could bawl, he cries, 
1 Goddess of wisdom ! pray what weather 
Has blown your goat skin doublet hither ? 
Howe'er thou eom'st quite opportune, 
To see how basely I'm run down ; 
Thou com'st most apropos incog, 
To see how I will trim this dog ; 
For by this rusty blade, his life 
Or mine shall end this furious strife.' 

To whom replied the blue eyed Pallas, 
c I come to save thee from the gallows ; 
Thou'rt surely either mad or drunk, 
To threaten murder for a punk ; 
Prithee man, let this passior. cool, 
For once be guided by a fool ; 
I flew like lightning from above, 
Thy dreadful fury to reraov ■ ; 
Por white-aimed Juno bid me say, 
Let reason n 3w thy passion sway, 
And angry be another clay. 5 " 

We will now pass on to the name of 
RALPH DARLING, 
An Alderman of the borough, and twice Mayor of his 



I38 HULLINIA. 

native town, who was born in the Parish of Holy 
Trinity, January 1 7, 1 728, where he was for many years 
a medical practitioner. He turned the English transla- 
tion of the Holy Evangelists into verse ; and died 
November 21st, 1798, aged 70 years. His labours 
were submitted to the public, and in 1801, his work 
was published under the title of u A Poetical Version 
of the Four Gospels/' This work is a quarto volume 
of nearly 400 pages, and is not very poetical, as the 
author says/ having " limited himself to the faithful ex- 
pression in verse, of what our learned and pious trans- 
lators of the Scriptures have executed in prose." The 
following is the opening paragraph of the 28th chapter 
of St. Matthew's Gospel, in which Christ's Resurrection 
is declared by an angel to the women : — 

" The first morn of tlie week, ere dawning day 
Had chased the dusky shades of night away, 
The Marys reached the tomb. An earthquake rent 
The ground's firm surface, whilst with swift descent 
An angel came from heaven, who roll'd the stone 
From off the sepulchre, and sat thereon. 
His countenance did bright as lightning glow ; 
White was his raiment as unsullied snow ; 
Of terror all that looked on him partook ; 
The very guards, o'ercomc with horror shook, 
And like men actually dead appeared ; 
The angel then benevolently cheer' d 
The women, saying, ' Let your fear subside ; 
Ye look for Jesus, who wa3 crucified ; 
He is not here, but risen as he said — 
Come view the cavern where the Lord was laid ; 
To his disciples now with speed repair, 
Jesus' resurrection to declare. 
Behold ! before you into Galilee 
He goes, where your loved Master ye shall sec. 
Lo ! I have told you.' With exceeding fear, 



IIULLINIA. 159 

And equal joy, they left the sepulchre ; 
But whilst they ran their tidings to convey, 
Jesus in person met them on the way, 
Saying, ' All hail ' ! at which endearing word 
They clasp* d his feet, and piously adored. 
He then admonish' d them to banish fear, 
Adding — ' This message to my brethren bear — 
Eepair to Galilee, as ye were told, 
Where all of ye my countenance shall behold.' " 

In this style of versification it continues through 
nearly 400 pages of pure piety. 

The next bard who invites attention is 

NATHANIEL TUCKER, M.D. 

Dr. Tucker, who practised as a physician, first at 
Malton, afterwards for 22 years in this town, was born 
in Bermuda, as his verse indicates in the following 
couplet : — 

11 Bermuda ! parent of my early clays, 
To thee belong my tributary lays." 

A spot where, as " tuneful Waller" sings, he found — 

" So sweet the air, so moderate the clime, 
None sickly lives, or dies before his time ; 
Heaven sure has kepi; this spot of earth uncurst, 
To shew how all things were created first." 

Previously to Dr. Tucker becoming a medical 
student at Edinburgh, he wrote a poem called " The 
Bermudian," which was printed in 1774, and has been 
complimented in an elegant sonnet, by the Rev. Dr. 
Henley, who says : — " This poem breathes throughout 
that pure spirit of mildness and benevolence, which so 
strikingly characterized the habits and life of its 
author." In 1776, he published " The Anchoret," a 
poem. Dr. Tucker died, November 28th, 1809, aged 



I40 HULLINIA. 

57 years. A second edition of " The Bermudian M was 
published at Hull, by his widow, in the following year. 
" The Bermudian " contains 332 lines in the style 
of the succeeding passage. The author is viewing in 
retrospect the home of his nativity : — 

c< Beneath my bending eye, serenely neat, 
Appears my ever blest paternal seat, 
Far in the front the level lawn extends, 
The zephyrs play, the nodding cypress bends ; 
A little hillock stands on either side, 
O'erspread with evergreens, the garden's pride, 
Promiscuous here appears the blushing rose, 
The guava flourishes, the inyrtle grows, 
Upon the surface, earth-born woodbines creep. 
O'er the green beds painted nasturtians peep, 
Their arms aloft, triumphant lilacs bear, 
And jessamines perfume the ambient air. 
The whole is from an eminence display' d, 
Where the brown olive lends his pensive shade, 
"When zephyrs then the noon-tide heat assuage, 
Oft have I turn'cl the meditative page, 
And calmly read the ]ir»gering hours \ .', 
Secure! - shelter' d from the blaze of day. 
At eve ^freshed, I trode the mazy walk, 
And bade the minute: r ass in cheerful talk, 
With many a joke my brothers, would assail, 
Or chec r my sisters w ; .th the comic tale ; [veyed, 
While both fond paients, pleased, the group sur- 
Attcnti '3 heard, and smiled at all they said. 
Thrice Lappy seat ! h 3re once were centered all 
That bi d my heart to this terrestrial ball ; 
The sig t of these, eaoh gloomy thought destroys, 
And tii 3 my soul tc s illunary joys ! " 

We w 1 now pre ceed to notice that celebrated 
translator ol German dramatic literature into English — * 



HULLINIA. 14 1 

BENJAMIN THOMPSON, 

Who was the son of the late Alderman B. B. Thomp- 
son, a timber merchant of Hull, where our author was 
born, March ioth, 1774. When about 15 years of age, 
he was sent to finish his education in Germany. He 
thus acquired a critical knowledge of the language of 
that country, and became especially familiar with the 
beauties of the unfortunate Kotzebue, whose celebrated 
play of " The Stranger," he translated soon after his 
return to England. He was unsuccessful in his original 
business, and also in a laudable attempt to naturalize 
the breed of merino sheep, a present having been made 
to him by his Majesty, King George III., of a part 
of the royal flock from Kew. This new speculation 
being an unprofitable one, and his mercantile pursuits 
failing, Mr. Thompson went to London and became an 
author by profession, and soon attained to considerable 
eminence in the literary world, publishing, besides 
various works of a similiar class, six volumes of trans- 
lations, under the title of " The German Theatre/' 
His other original productions were not numerous, 
consisting only of some imitations of Gellert, which 
first appeared in the Hull Advertiser, in 1798, under 
the signature of " Hugo/' " The Recall of Momus, a 
Bagatelle ; " " Godolphin, or the Lion of the North," a 
drama ; and " Oberons Oath, or the Paladin and the 
Princess, a melo-dramatic romance," founded on a 
poem by Wieland. This piece was brought out at 
Drury Lane Theatre, on the 21st of May, 18 16, and 
was unfavourably received by the public. This is sup- 
posed to have occasioned the death of the author, his 
feelings being highly excited by the disappointment of 
his expectations as to the success of the production. 

Mr. Thompson died of apoplexy, in London, 
May 25, 1 8 16, at the age of 37 years. The following 
mock-serious lines are from his imitations of Gellert ; — 



I42 HULLINIA, 

SUICIDE ! 

" For your instruction, Oh ! unguarded youth, 

I sing, alas, a melancholy truth ; 

To you the power of cupid I'll impart, 

Learn from my tale to shun the urchin's dart. 

I knew an upright, venerable sage, 

Blest with a son, the comfort of his age ; 

This son, whose virtues faii'd not to excite 

In all around him wonder and delight, 

The sweet enchanting Caroline adored, 

And at her feet, for mutual love implored 

In vain. For though his sufferings she surveyed, 

Inflexible remained the cruel maid. 
1 Enough ! ' cried he, ' 'tis but a moment's pain, 

Ne'er shalt thou hear this hated voice again,' 

Forth from his side the glittering sword he drew, 

Aloft he held it, horrible to view ; 

The edge, the point, he eyed with look of death — 

And then — returned it calmly to the sheath ! " 

The next name that invites our attention is that of 

ISAAC WILSON, 

Who, although born at Eggleston, in the County of 
Durham, becomes identified with this town, through a 
residence in it of about 40 years. In the year 1800, 
he became the editor of the //?/// Advertiser, in which 
paper many of his poetical productions originally ap- 
peared. In 1830, a collection appeared, entitled 
" Miscellanies, in prose and verse : consisting of the 
Inspector, a periodical paper, and poems, chiefly pub- 
lished in the Hull Advertiser." This handsome vol- 
ume, of 360 pages, includes " The Infidel and Christian 
Philosophers : or, the last hours of Voltaire and Addi- 
son contrasted," which first appeared in 1802. The 
poem concludes with the following beautiful lines : — 



HULLINIA. 143 

11 Ye self-call' d sages who, to wisdom blind, 

Strive to corrupt and brutalize mankind ; 

Ye who, of ignorance and error vain, 

Count virtue loss, and irreligion gain ; 

The riches of redeeming grace despise, 

And slight those truths, the good and virtuous prize. 

Can you, regardless of the wild despair — 

The cruel sufferings of your loved Voltaire ? 

And still unmoved, forbear to shun his fate ! 

Can you, a willing prey to guilt resigned, 

Still hardened view that heavenly frame of mind, 

That peace of soul that Addison displays, 

Nor thus to Heaven in prayer your voices raise — 
1 All gracious God ! on mo thy mercies shower, 

And crown, like Addison's my dying hour ! 

Sustain my soul with hopes of future bliss, 

And let m}^ latter moments be like his ! ' 

may the awful truths these lines suggest, 
Be on each mind indelibly imprest ; 
Taught their eternal interest to discern, 
May all mankind th' important lesson learn — 
That though, when free life's circling current plays, 
And all things promise length of prosperous days, 
The wicked man his anguish may conceal, 

And from the wolf that tears his vitals steal ; 
Nay more, that though, when on a death-bed cast, 
The wretched unbeliever breathes his last, 
Pride, or a passion for an empty name, 
A daring spirit or the fear of shame 
In one, of thousands, may by chance repress 
The free confession of deserved distress ; 
Yet those feel pangs which in their dying hour 
(Howe'er disguised) all such are doom'd t' endure, 
In energetic language testify, 
' Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die ! ' " 

1 shall notice next a name that is familiar to us all, 



144 HULLINIA. 

whose ancient family have produced, from generation 
to generation, gifted sons and scholars :— 

GEORGE PRYME, M.A., 

Grandson of Francis Pryme, Esq., an Alderman and 
twice Mayor of this town, was a native of Hull. He 
received his early education at the Grammar School, 
under Mr. Milner, and afterwards became a Fellow of 
Trinity College, Cambridge, where he distinguished 
himself while an undergraduate, by gaining Sir Wm. 
Browne's gold medal, in 1801 and 1802, for the best 
Greek and Latin Epigrams, and the best Greek Ode. 
In 1803 he gained the Buchanan prize, for the best 
Greek Ode on the "Creation." In each of the two 
following years he had the first prize awarded to him, 
for the best Latin Essay; and in 1809, the Seatonian 
prize was adjudged to him, for his poem on the " Con- 
quest of Canaan.'' Besides the prize poems and essays 
already mentioned, Mr. Pryme, in 18 13, printed " An 
Ode to Trinity College." He was also the author of 
various publications on the rather unpoetical subject of 
political economy, as well as on other topics. But I 
must keep to my text, therefore I will conclude this 
sketch with the following lines from the " Conquest of 
Canaan," which refers to the battle of Gibeon, from the 
10th chapter of the book of Joshua : — 

"Slow as tlie congregated troops advance 
O'er Gibeon's fatal plain ; tlie banner' d pride 
Of various nations waving in the breeze 
The gleam of burnish' d helms and shields and spears 
Glittering in distance, far as eye could pierce, 
Bursts on the plumed chief's enraptured view ; 
"While echo wide 1he clarion's swelling note, 
And shriller harmonies inflame the breast, 
And vengeance glistens in his doubtless eye ; 
In spite of ancient prophecies of woe, 



IIULLINIA. 145 

Day dreams of victory inspire the t hope 

To combat heaven's decree, and conquer fate. 

To crush their pride and vassal Gib eon save, 

Through night's pale gloom impatient Israel moves, 

On their high crests sate victory enthroned, 

And heavenly favour steel' d each lance's point, 

On every side unsparing slaughter spreads, 

And Judah's warriors sweep whole ranks away. 

Each desperate leader hurries through his bands, 

And to fresh valour fires their drooping hearts, 

The flower of Canaan rallies from defeat, 

In circling crescents wheel, close column forms, 

Or serried phalanx's compacted force ; 

Again their troops in flight are scatter' d wide, 

Like Lybian sands before the southern blast. 

With Israel's sword the elements conspire 

To pour a deeper ruin. O'er their heads 

The vollied lightnings flash, loud whirlwinds howl, 

Impetuous torrents through the lucid air 

Congeal'd in massy spheres of hail descend, 

And dash the fainting fugitives to earth ; 

Breathless, with faltering steps they strive to flee, 

And look for safety in approaching night. 

Vain expectation ; at the wonted hour 

No darkness in her friendly mantle shrouds 

Yon routed band. The awful mandate bursts 

From Joshua's tongue : astonished nature owns 

His potent voice : the orb of day arrests 

His weary course. The dying flames of fight 

Revive ; again red slaughter dyes the plain, 

Till the tired warrior quits the faint pursuit 

By the last radiance of the ling'ring sun ; 

Death's piercing cries in horrid silence sink : 

And the last sound of battle dies away." 

Having two more authors requiring a passing 
notice, we must not therefore dwell any longer, but 
proceed rapidly with a brief sketch of the 

J 



I46 HULLINIA. 

Rev. RICHARD PATRICK, M.A. 

This gentleman was born in Hull, in 1768, where 
his father was an officer of excise. Mr. Patrick was 
baptized at the Church of Holy Trinity, on the 25th 
of November, 1 769, and received his education at the 
Grammar School, under the excellent Rev. Joseph 
Milner, where he was long the class-fellow and com- 
petitor of the late Rev. J. H. Bromby, for many years 
the esteemed Vicar of Holy Trinity Church. He was 
for 20 years, Vicar of the Parish of Sculcoates, and 
according to high authorities, was considered the 
most erudite of that constellation of authors, whose 
names are identified with their native town ; it was said 
"few men better deserved the apellation of learned." 

His MSS., which were extremly numerous, con- 
sisted chiefly of miscellaneous notes and extracts in- 
serted in a folio volume. Towards the close of life, 
circumstances beyond human control prevented him 
from making their contents profitable to the public ; 
his mind became subject to occasional serious aberra- 
tions, brought on, probably, by excess of study. Mr. 
Patrick died, deeply lamented, on the 9th of February, 
1815. 

Mr. Patrick first appeared before the world as an 
author anonymously. He wrote a learned critique on 
" Davies' Celtic Researches/' which he furnished to 
the editor of the Imperial Review, The extent of his 
reading, and of his researches into the history and 
origin of languages, was chiefly made known to the 
public through the medium of the Classical Journal. 
In the fifth number of that work, for March, 181 1, 
appeared his essay on " The Chinese World." The 
seventh number of the same Journal, for September, 
181 1, contains the following communications from Mr. 
Patrick, " A New Translation of Obscure Passages 
in the Bible;" " The 10th chapter of Genesis ex- 
plained, or an Essay on the First Peopling of the 



HULLINIA. 147 

Earth/' and the " Britain of the Classics. " Then fol- 
lowed "The Chart of Ten Numerals, in 900 Tongues/' 
which is described by its compiler as having been " col- 
lected from one thousand authors, before Adelung and 
Eickhorn wrote, and from books of Voyages and Tours, 
the amusing labour of twenty years ! " &c. 

His last avowed production was a poem, which 
was not considered worthy of much merit, entitled 
11 The death of Prince Bagration, or the French 
defeated in Russia and Poland, in 18 12 and 18 13." 
From the death-song of the Prince Bagration, who fell 
in the sanguinary battle of Borodino, I have copied the 
following allusion to the sufferings of the French army 
in their disastrous winter campaign in Russia : — ■ 

" Oh ! flight full of revenge 
To Russia's shepherds sweet ! 
Oh ! hail-fraught storms of showery snow, 
Pouring from angry Heaven. 
Righteous your vengeance on the crest-fallen foe, 
And just and most complete ! 
Turn, tyrant, turn thy savage eye 
And see thy blood-hounds fell, 
So lately — < fierce as furies, terrible as hell ; ' 
In their own blood they he ! 
Yes, atheist host of France ! 
Thy daring blasphemies have reaeh'd 
The sovereign Ruler of the sky, 
Struck by Jehovah's arm, ye sicken and ye die. 
And he, the fiercest tyrant of the West, 
A second proud Senacherib shall die ; 
Such the well-measur'd doom, and well-earn' d fate 
This second Tamerlane, this Attila shall wait. 
Nay, France herself i shall rise, and at a blow 
Crush the dire author of all Europe's woe.' 
But happier far my Russia's fate from thine, 
Degenerate child of freeborn Corsic's clime, 
And happier far our hardy host 



I48 HULLINIA. 

Than thy kppall'd disorganized line, 

So shatter'd, (erst so proud ; ) 

Thro' thy disorganized camps 

No voice was heard to spread, 

But voice of curses loud upon the tyrant's head.'* 

We have one more poet to notice and then I shall 
have completed the task I assigned to myself. I can 
only entertain the hope, that if my readers are half as 
much pleased with the specimens from Hull Poets, as 
I have been in their compilation, I shall be amply 
repaid for the time and labour involved in this under- 
taking. And now for the last, but by no means the 
least, clever of the sons of song, who once resided in 
Hull, the 

Rev. THOMAS BROWNE. 

This exceedingly clever man, who was born in 
1 771, was the son of a clergyman residing at Lastring- 
ham, near Kirby-moor-side, Yorkshire, nephew of 
Mr. Thomas Browne, a bookseller in Hull, and the 
first curator of the Subscription Library. Mr. Browne 
was, for a short time, under the tuition of the Rev. J. 
Milner, of Hull, and in 1797, he came to reside in this 
town, having undertaken the editorial management of 
the Hull Advertiser, in which journal appeared many 
of his prose essays and poetical pieces, under the sig- 
nature of " Alexis." Mr. Browne obtained Holy 
Orders, but died shortly afterwards, on the 8th day of 
January, 1798, in the 26th year of his age. 

His " Poems on several occasions," which contain 
some excellent specimens of the Yorkshire dialect, 
were published, with a memoir of the authors life, by 
Mr. John Merritt of Liverpool, who, previously to Mr. 
Brown, had occupied the editorial chair of the Hull 
Advertiser. 

Read the following beautiful and simple yet touch- 
ing specimen of the style of our talented Poet ; — - 



HULLINIA. I49 

AWD DAISY.— AN ECLOGUE. 

Goorgy — Weell met, good Eobert, saw ye my awd meer ; 
I've lated her an hoor, i' t' loonin here, 
But, howsumiver, spite of all my care, 
I cannot spy her, nowther head nor hair. 

Robert — Whaw, Goorgy, I've to teyl ye dowly news, 
Syke as I'se varra seer will make ye muse ; 
I just this minnet left your poor awd tyke, 
Dead as a steean, i' Johnny Dobson's dyke. 

Goorgy — Whoor ! what's that, Eobin ? tell us owre ageean ; 
You're joking, or you've mebby been mistean. 

Robert — Nay, marry Goorgy, I seer I can't be wrang, 
You kno' I've keyn'd awd Daisy now se lang ; 
Her bread-ratched feeace, an' twa white hinder legs, 
Preav'd it was hor, as seer as eggs is eggs. 

Goorgy — Poor thing ! what deead then ? had she laid there lang ? 
Whor abouts is she ? Eobert, will you gang ? 

Robert — I care nut, Goorgy, I han't much te dea, 

A good hour's labour, or may happen twea ; 
Bud as I nivver like to hing behind, 
When I can dea a kaundness tiv a frynd, 
An' I can help you, wi' my hand or team, 
I'll help to skin her, or to bring her heam. 

Goorgy — Thank ye, good Eobert, I can't think belike, 
How't poor awd creature tumbled inte t'dyke. 

Robert — Ye maund she'd fun hersen, just gaun te dee, 
An' sea laid down by t'side (as seems to me,) 
An' when she felt the pains 0' death within, 
She kick'd an' struggled, an' se towpled in. 

Goorgy — Meast lickly ; bud — what, was she dead outreet, 

When ye furst gat up ? when ye gat t' furst seet ? 

Robert — Youse hear ; as was gaun doon t' looan I spy'd 
A scoore or mair o' crows by t' gutter side ; 
AH se thrang, hoppin in, and hoppin out, 



1 50 HULUNIA. 

I wonder' d what V the warld they were about. 
I leuks, an' then I sees an awd yode laid, 
Gaspin' an* pantin' there, an' ommost dead ; 
An' as they pick'd its een, and pick'd ageean, 
It just cud lift its leg, and give a greean ; 
But when I fand awd Daisy was their prey, 
I wav'd my hat, an' shoo' d em all away. 
Poor Dais ! — ye maund, she's now woorn fairly out, 
She's lang been quite hard sett te trail about. 
But yonder, Goorgy, loo' ye whoor she's laid, 
An' twea 'r three Nanpies ehatt'rin owre her head. 

Goorgy — Aye, marry ! this I nivver wish'd to see, 
She's been se good, se true a frynd te me ! 
An' is thou eum te this, my poor poor awd meer ? 
Thou's been a trusty servant monny a year, 
An' better treatment thou's desarv'd fra me, 
Than thus neglected in a dyke te dee ! 
Monny a day work we ha' wrought togither, 
An' bidden monny a blast o' wind an weather ; 
Mony a lang dree maule, owre moss an' moor, 
An' monny a hill and deeal we've travell'd owre ; 
But now, weeas me ! thou'll nivver trot ne mair, 
Te nowther kirk nor market, spoort nor fair ; 
And now, for't future, thoff I's awd and learn, 
I mun be foorc'd to walk, or stay at heam ; 
Ne mair thou'l bring me cooals fra' Blackay brow, 
Or sticks fra't wood, or turves fra' Leaf how cow. 
My poor awd Daise ! afoor I dig thy greeave, 
Thy well-worn shoon I will for keep-seeakes seeave ; 
Thy hide, poor lass ! I'll hev it taun'd wi' care, 
'Twill mak' a cover te my awd airm chair, 
An' pairt an apron for my wife te weear, 
When cardin' woul, or weshin' t' parlour fleei : 
Deep i' 't cawd yearth I will thy carcase pleeaco, 
'At thy poor beans may lig, and rist i' peeace ; 
Deep i' t' cawd yearth, 'at dogs mayn't scrat thee out, 



HULLINIA. 151 

An' rauve thy flesh, an' trail thy beeans about. 
Tuou's been se faithful for se lang te me, 
Thou sanuut at thy death neglected be ; 
Seyldom a Christian 'at yan now can fynd, 
Wad be mair trusty or mair true a frynd." 

A few words more before I conclude these notices 
of the " Past Poets of Hull." There have been many 
bards besides those mentioned ; but I have adhered to 
the rule I laid down — to recognise the names only of 
those gifted men who compiled and published a volume 
of verse in Hull. I am certain the reader will be of 
the same opinion as myself, that our town has reason 
to be proud in having once possessed so many highly 
educated 'sons of song/ and in having given to the 
country more than its proportionate share of poetical 
genius. And, doubtless, there are plenty in the living 
present who will continue to exalt our town in the 
future. It is acknowledged that there are seasons when 
— unharnessed from the trappings of the world — Nature 
seizes upon times and particular occasions to impress 
upon us that poetry pervades all around ; that it is 
her highest office to raise the brow of man to Heaven, 
for in all her outward appearances she breathes 
inspiration and poetry. It is at such times, we all are 
imbued with the highest poetical feeling. When we 
wander in green fields, and tread as it were a carpet 
of natural flowers, away from the noise and din of 
town life, then these sublime thoughts come stealing 
softly over the heart, " for as the sea shell unceasingly 
sings the music of its far off home, so the soul k holds 
communion with an unseen world." This is poetry 
which we feel and know, but which many of us cannot 
adequately express. 

I trust that the few specimens quoted in this work, 
may be the means of inspiring and stimulating many 
to put on their singing robes, keeping in remembrance 
that poetry, unlike prose, must be nourished with care, 



I 52 HULLIN1A. 

clothed with exactness and elegance, educated with 
industry, instructed with art, improved by application, 
corrected with severity, and accomplished with labour 
and time, before it is perfected. 

Finally, we may reasonably believe that the Poems 
of the " Past Poets of Hull/' are equal in genius, in 
learning, in piety, in liveliness, wit, good sense, and 
sound judgment, to those of the best poetasters of any 
age. They have long since winged their way to that 
blessed abode beyond the stormy clouds that bedim the 
great world of humanity, there to hymn the praise of 
the Great Poet of the Universe! There, unpinioned, 
and with uplifted voices, they join in the grand chorus, 
singing with inspired tongues the praises of the " Archi- 
tect of countless worlds, the Eternal/' who alone 
" exerts all goodness and transcends all praise." 




WILLIAM ADAMS, PRINTER, 23, MARKET-PLACE, HULL. 



\ 



JUL 23 1902 



